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Crossaster papposus
Common names:
The Common Sun Star or the Rose Star
Description:
C. papposus has a scarlet pink dorsal side and bands of light pink or white along the arms.
Size:
C. papposus can reach a radius of nearly 18 cm, with the length of the arms generally reaching a length of half of the radius. They usually have 13 arms, but it can vary from as little as 8 to as many as 14.
Range:
C. papposus inhabits the Pacific Coast from Alaska to the Puget Sound. On the Atlantic Coast form the Arctic to the Gulf of Maine.
Habitat:
C. papposus can be found along rocky shores during low tide inhabiting the rocky bottoms of the sea floor. It can be found as deep as 1200 m.
Feeding:
This Echinoderm is a predator of smaller sea stars such as Evasterias troschelii and Leptasterias sp. They also feed on mussels, barnacles, sea pens, nudibranchs.
Distinguishing Characteristics:
The white or light pink bands along the arms along with the raised ridges along the central disk help distinguish this particular echinoderm from others in the class of Stelleroidea.
Locomotion: Sea Stars move around the bottom of the ocean floor using podia or tube feet. These tube feet are capable of creating a suction to pull the animal into a desired position. C. papposus can move relatively fast compared to other seastars.
Predators:
Solaster dawsoni and Pycnopodia helianthoides have been know to prey upon C. papposus.
Reproduction:
C. papposus spawns March to April. The juvenile seastars will cluster in colonies of tubedwelling polychaete Phyllochaetopterus prolifica.
Additional Resources:
Wonders of the Sea
More information
Last updated Monday, August 21, 2006, by Lisa Ferrier
