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Solaster stimpsoni

{{Short description|Species of starfish}}

{{speciesbox

| image = Striped Sun Star002.jpg

| taxon = Solaster stimpsoni

| authority = Verrill, 1880

| synonyms =

  • Asterias decemradiatus Brandt, 1835
  • Crossaster vancouverensis de Loriol, 1897
  • Solaster constellatus Verrill, 1909
  • Solaster decemradiatus (Brandt, 1835)

}}

Solaster stimpsoni, common names Stimpson's sun star, sun star, orange sun star, striped sunstar, and sun sea star, is a species of starfish in the family Solasteridae.{{cite web|url=http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=292729 |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Solaster stimpsoni Verrill, 1880 |publisher=Marinespecies.org |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2012-02-13}}{{cite web |author=Dave Cowles |url=http://www.wallawalla.edu/academics/departments/biology/rosario/inverts/Echinodermata/Class%20Asteroidea/Solaster_stimpsoni.html |title=Solaster stimpsoni |publisher=Wallawalla.edu |date= |access-date=2012-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120204175317/http://www.wallawalla.edu/academics/departments/biology/rosario/inverts/Echinodermata/Class%20Asteroidea/Solaster_stimpsoni.html |archive-date=2012-02-04 |df= }}{{cite web |author=Joan Gerteis |url=http://beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/animals/Solasterstimpsoni.htm |title=Solaster stimpsoni |publisher=Beachwatchers.wsu.edu |date= |access-date=2012-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100601160540/http://beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/animals/Solasterstimpsoni.htm |archive-date=2010-06-01 |df= }}{{cite web|url=http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/kodiak/photo/starsola.htm |title=AFSC/RACE - Sun Sea Star, Solaster stimpsoni |publisher=Afsc.noaa.gov |date=2006-12-06 |accessdate=2012-02-13}}{{cite web |url=http://bcbiodiversity.lifedesks.org/pages/20522 |title=Solaster stimpsoni | Marine Biodiversity of British Columbia |publisher=Bcbiodiversity.lifedesks.org |date= |access-date=2012-02-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130415093921/http://bcbiodiversity.lifedesks.org/pages/20522 |archive-date=2013-04-15 |df= }}{{cite web|url=http://www.marinespecies.org/Asteroidea/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=292729 |title=The World Asteroidea Database - Solaster stimpsoni Verrill, 1880 |publisher=Marinespecies.org |date=2008-01-24 |accessdate=2012-02-13}}

It was first described by Addison Emery Verrill in 1880.{{Cite web |title=WoRMS - World Register of Marine Species - Solaster stimpsoni Verrill, 1880 |url=https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=292729 |access-date=2024-07-21 |website=www.marinespecies.org}}{{cite journal|author=Verrill, A.E. |editor= J. F. Whiteaves|date=1880|title= Appendix C. On Some Marine Invertebrata from the Queen Charlotte Islands. Asteroidea.|journal=Report of Progress 1878-1879, Geological Survey of Canada|pages= 190-205 (192-195) |url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40335043}}

Description

File:Solaster stimpsoni 001.jpg

Solaster stimpsoni is a large species, growing up to 50 cm in diameter. It can have 8 to 12 arms, but usually has 10. The aboral surface has a distinctive reddish orange colour and is covered with thick paxillae. The arms are long, slender, and tapering, each with a dark, purplish-grey contrasting stripe, running from the centre of the body to the tip. They contain no pedicellariae. The underside of the arms have two rows of tube feet. Members of the class Asteroidea exhibit both asexual and sexual means of reproduction. Life cycle: Embryos hatch into planktonic larvae and later metamorphose into pentamerous juveniles which develop into young sea stars with stubby arms.

Distribution

This species is found in the seas of Japan, and along the western coast of the United States, from central California, to as far north as Alaska.

Habitat

Solaster stimpsoni usually lives on rocky surfaces in the subtidal, and occasionally the low inter-tidal zones, at depths from 0 to 610 meters.

Diet

This starfish feeds on various small sea cucumbers, such as Cucumaria miniata, Cucumaria curata, Eupentacta quinquesemita, Eupentacta pseudoquinquesemita, and Psolus chitonoides. It also eats brachiopods, ascidians, or sea pens.

Predators

Solaster stimpsoni is eaten by a close relative, Solaster dawsoni, the morning sunstar.

References

https://www.sealifebase.ca/summary/Solaster-stimpsoni.html{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q2008406}}

stimpsoni

Category:Echinoderms of the Pacific Ocean

Category:Animals described in 1880

Category:Taxa named by Addison Emery Verrill

{{Asteroidea-stub}}