Leptasterias aequalis

Leptasterias aequalis, common names little six-rayed seastar or six-armed star, is a species of starfish.

Leptasterias aequalis
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Echinodermata
Class:
Asteroidea
Order:
Forcipulatida
Family:
Asteriidae
Genus:
Leptasterias
Species:
L. aequalis
Binomial name
Leptasterias aequalis
(Stimpson, 1862)

This is a small species, with a total width of only about 5 centimetres (2.0 in). The coloration is extremely variable.

This seastar is found in the eastern Pacific Ocean, from Washington to Southern California. It lives on rocky shores, in the mid-intertidal zone.

Many sea-stars broadcast-spawn their embryos, where fertilization occurs in the water column; however, Leptasterias species brood their embryos locally. The stars form mating aggregations and the female sits on her brood for a period of 6–8 weeks while the embryos develop underneath. Eventually the embryos fully metamorphose into juvenile sea-stars and walk away, and thus can only locally disperse. Larger females produce larger embryos of great quality; however, as larger broods are produced, a considerable proportion of them are lost.[1]

References
  1. Bingham, Brian (2004). "Variability in broods of the seastar Leptasterias aequalis". Canadian Journal of Zoology. 82 (3): 457–463. doi:10.1139/z04-009.
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