Pycnopodia helianthoides, commonly known as the sunflower sea star, is a large sea star found in the northeastern Pacific Ocean. [3] The only species of its genus , it is among the largest sea stars in the world, with a maximum arm span of 1 m (3.3 ft).

Nov 20, 2024 · The sunflower sea star occurs throughout intertidal and subtidal coastal waters of the Northeast Pacific Ocean from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska, to at least northern Baja California, Mexico. They are found to a depth of at least 435 meters on various substrate types, from rocky kelp forests to sand and mud flats.

A laboratory dedicated to restoring Sunflower Stars (pycnopodia helianthoides) to California coastal waters. Located in Monterey Bay, California. In 2013 sea star wasting syndrome destroyed Sunflower Star populations on the West Coast, removing a keystone predator that prevents urchin barrens and preserves the kelp ecosystem.

Aug 30, 2023 · The sunflower sea star is the largest species of sea star in the global ocean, with 24 large arms and a diameter of nearly three feet from arm tip to arm tip when full grown. They can grow to weigh as much 13 pounds and, despite its large size, this species may also be the world’s fastest sea star.

Apr 26, 2023 · Sunflower sea stars are native to marine waters along the Pacific Coast, from northern Baja California to the central Aleutian Islands.

Sunflower sea stars (Pycnopodia helianthoides) are marine invertebrates also called starfish by some and asteroids by scientists, that belong to the same family as as sea urchins, sea cucumbers, and sand dollars.

The Sunflower Sea Star is the swiftest, largest, and heaviest sea star in the North Pacific, and perhaps the entire world. That’s how Rita and Charles O’Clair described the multi-limbed predators in Southeast Alaska’s Rocky Shores in 1998, two decades before an outbreak of sea star wasting disease killed millions of sea stars on the west ...

The sunflower sea star is the largest of the sea stars and has the most arms. It may also be the fastest sea star. It is typically found in the eastern Pacific Ocean from Unalaska Island, Alaska, to Baja California, but less typically south of Monterey Bay.

For a sea star, this animal is a voracious predator. When on the prowl for food, the sunflower star swings along on its 15,000 tube feet — moving at the remarkable speed of over 40 inches (1 m) per minute.

This stunning marine creature most frequently goes by the descriptive, as well as informative, common name of the Sunflower Sea Star.