Common Sunstar
Crossaster papposus

f22 @ 1/60s, Kodachrome 25 slide film, ASA 25, Nikonos II w 28mm and Nikon close up lens, Oceanic 2000 flash

\"Common Sunstar,\" Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.The common sunstar is a species of sea star belonging to the family Solasteridae. It is found in the northern parts of both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.The common sunstar is distributed from the Arctic down to the English Channel, in the North Sea, also on both East (from the Arctic to the Gulf of Maine) and Pacific coasts (from Alaska to Puget Sound) of North America. It is also circumboreal, found in Greenland, Iceland, the Barents Sea, Kola Bay, Okhotsk Sea and the White Sea. The common sunstar is commonly found on rocky bottoms, coarse sand and gravel in the bathyal, infralittoral and circalittoral zone (from low-tide line up to depths of 300 m). It seems to prefer areas of high water movement. Very small sunstars are sometimes found in rock pools.It is reddish on top with concentric bands of white, pink, yellow, or dark red, and it is white on the underside. It is covered on top with brushlike spines, with the marginal spines somewhat larger. The thick, central disc is fairly large. This central disc has a netlike pattern of raised ridges. The mouth area is bare. It has relatively short arms which usually number eight to fourteen. Its radius can be up to 15cm. The madreporite plate stands out clearly.

Rockport, Massachusetts

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