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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