Red starfish
Red starfish
Echinaster sepositus
Max. size: 20 cm
Geographical distribution:
Often found in the English Channel, and is abundant in the Mediterranean.
Biology:
The red starfish is very common and can be easily identified by its bright colour. Its five long arms enable it to move around slowly on the sea floor, using its ambulacrals. It feeds on small organic particles or sponges.
This creature belongs to the group of animals known as echinoderms (spiny skinned animals), which includes sea cucumbers and urchins: these strange creatures characteristically have pentametric radial symmetry (the body is made up of five parts around a central axis). As a result, starfish have the extraordinary gift of regeneration: a whole animal can be reconstituted from a single arm.
To reproduce, starfish discharge sperm and eggs into the sea; fertilisation creates a ciliate planktonic larva, which attaches itself to a substratum to continue its evolution.
