Animals / Starfish

Common starfish

Asterias rubens · Asteriidae

The common starfish, common sea star or sugar starfish is the most common and familiar starfish in the north-east Atlantic. Belonging to the family Asteriidae, it has five arms and usually grows to between 10–30 cm across, although larger specimens are known. The common starfish is usually orange or brownish in color, and sometimes violet; specimens found in deeper waters are pale.

Where the Common starfish lives

Recorded in United Kingdom, Netherlands, Canada, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, France, United States of America and Germany (Europe and North America).

Most records fall in Zuid-Holland, Zeeland, Schleswig-Holstein, Västra Götaland, Ards and Hordaland.

See the Common starfish’s range on the globe

Conservation status

Not evaluated (NE). Scientists haven’t checked yet how at risk it is, so this doesn’t mean it is safe or in danger. Categories are the IUCN Red List as republished by GBIF.

Sources

The range is a density of 69,919 georeferenced GBIF records, not an expert-drawn map. Description from Wikipedia.