| Henricia leviuscula | |
|---|---|
 | |
Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Spinulosida |
| Family: | Echinasteridae |
| Genus: | Henricia |
| Species: | H. leviuscula |
| Binomial name | |
| Henricia leviuscula (Stimpson), 1857 | |
Henricia leviuscula, commonly called the Pacific blood star, it is a species of sea star found along the Pacific coast of North America.
They can usually be identified by their bright orange-red color, but there can also be many variations from tan to almost purple. The disk can be a mottled gray color. There can also be a saddle-like marking of lilac blotches between the rays, but the rays are not mottled. [1] They commonly have 5 rays (occasionally 4–6). The rays are smooth and appear smooth due to the lack of pedicellariae and spines. The species is relatively small; the diameter is usually over 8 cm and rarely gets larger than 12 cm. [2] As with all seastars the blood star has a madreporite which can be seen in the image below.
Sexes are dioecious and females are not known to brood young. [3] This statement is in conflict with other sources that state that smaller females brood their young and larger females discharge eggs directly in the water and do not brood them. [4] This is one reason that is leading biologists to believe this is a species complex. [5] Embryonic stages do not adhere to one another but float freely. Post-hatching larvae are ciliated and swim. Spawned eggs have been measured at 1342 μm diameter. [6]
In a study comparing seastar righting behavior the Henricia leviuscula twisted arms 1 and 3 toward each other, used arms 4 and 5 to support itself on the bottom of the tank, and moved arm 2 up so it was in a sitting-like position, and began to flip itself over. Overall, it had an average righting time of 15.22 minutes. [7]
Its range is from Alaska to Baja California. [8]
Its habitat is the intertidal zone under rocks and protected places from the low-tide line to about 400 m deep. [9] They often have a commensal scaleworm, Arctonoe vittata . [10]
There may be hybrids and possible distinct species that key to Henricia leviuscula. [11] Subspecies are Henricia leviuscula annectens and Henricia leviuscula levivuscula. [12]
They mainly feed on sponges and small bacteria. [13] The sea star moves these tiny particles, which are captured in mucus and swept to the mouth by ciliated tracts. It may also feed by applying the stomach to the surfaces of sponges and bryozoa. [14]
Not listed. Predators are humans and birds.
Pacific blood star, Blood star, Blood star fish. [16]
Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish are also known as asteroids due to being in the class Asteroidea. About 1,900 species of starfish live on the seabed in all the world's oceans, from warm, tropical zones to frigid, polar regions. They are found from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths, at 6,000 m (20,000 ft) below the surface.
Mediaster aequalis is a species of sea star in the family Goniasteridae. It is native to the west coast of North America, ranging from Alaska to California. It is found in various habitats including beaches during very low tides, and at depths down to about 500 m (1,600 ft). Also known as the vermilion sea star, it is the type species of the genus Mediaster and was first described in 1857 by the American zoologist William Stimpson.
The Echinasteridae are a family of starfish in the monotypic order Spinulosida. The family includes eight genera and about 133 species found on the seabed in various habitats around the world.
Tonicella lineata, commonly known as the lined chiton, is a species of chiton from the North Pacific.
Mopalia spectabilis, commonly known as the red-flecked mopalia, is a species of chiton.
Melibe leonina, commonly referred to as the hooded nudibranch, lion nudibranch, or lion's mane nudibranch, is a species of predatory nudibranch in the family Tethydidae.
Urticina crassicornis, commonly known as the mottled anemone, the painted anemone or the Christmas anemone, is a large and common intertidal and subtidal sea anemone. Its habitat includes a large portion of the coastal areas of the northern hemisphere, mainly polar regions, and it lives a solitary life for up to 80 years. Mottled anemones are similar to Dahlia anemones and both are commonly referred to as northern red anemones.
Cucumaria miniata is a species of sea cucumber. It is commonly known as the orange sea cucumber or red sea cucumber due to its striking color. This northeast Pacific species is often found wedged in between rocks or crevices at the coast or on docks and can generally be identified by its orange bushy tentacles protruding above the substrate.
Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis is commonly known as the green sea urchin because of its characteristic green color. It is commonly found in northern waters all around the world including both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans to a northerly latitude of 81 degrees and as far south as Maine and England. The average adult size is around 50 mm (2 in), but it has been recorded at a diameter of 87 mm (3.4 in). The green sea urchin prefers to eat seaweeds but will eat other organisms. They are eaten by a variety of predators, including sea stars, crabs, large fish, mammals, birds, and humans. The species name "droebachiensis" is derived from the name of the town Drøbak in Norway.
Ostrea lurida, common name the Olympia oyster, after Olympia, Washington in the Puget Sound area, is a species of edible oyster, a marine bivalve mollusk in the family Ostreidae. This species occurs on the northern Pacific coast of North America. Over the years the role of this edible species of oyster has been partly displaced by the cultivation of non-native edible oyster species.
Calliostoma ligatum, common name the blue top snail, is a small prosobranch trochid gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae, the Calliostoma top snails.
Pisaster ochraceus, generally known as the purple sea star, ochre sea star, or ochre starfish, is a common seastar found among the waters of the Pacific Ocean. Identified as a keystone species, P. ochraceus is considered an important indicator for the health of the intertidal zone.
The Brisingids are deep-sea-dwelling starfish in the order Brisingida.
Patiria miniata, the bat star, sea bat, webbed star, or broad-disk star, is a species of sea star in the family Asterinidae. It typically has five arms, with the center disk of the animal being much wider than the stubby arms are in length. Although the bat star usually has five arms, it sometimes has as many as nine. Bat stars occur in many colors, including green, purple, red, orange, yellow and brown, either mottled or solid. The bat star gets its name from the webbing between its arms, which is said to resemble a bat's wings.
Henricia is a large genus of slender-armed sea stars belonging to the family Echinasteridae. It contains about fifty species.
Eugene Nicolas Kozloff was an American marine biologist and botanist at Shannon Point Marine Center on Fidalgo Island, Washington. He was an emeritus professor of the Friday Harbor Laboratories, University of Washington, and is best known for writing field guides for the Pacific Northwest Region of the United States.
Leptasterias is a genus of starfish in the family Asteriidae. Members of this genus are characterised by having six arms although five-armed specimens sometimes occur. L. muelleri is the type species. The taxonomy of the genus is confusing and Leptasterias hexactis seems to be a species complex. Some species brood their eggs.
Leptasterias hexactis is a species of starfish in the family Asteriidae, commonly known as the six-rayed star. It is found in the intertidal zone of the western seaboard of the United States. It is a predator and is unusual among starfish in that it broods its eggs and young.
Urticina columbiana, common names crusty red anemone, Columbia sand anemone, sand anemone, and the sand-rose anemone, is a species of sea anemone in the family Actiniidae.
Rathbunaster is a monospecific genus of sea stars belonging to the family Asteriidae. The genus name was given by Fisher as a honorific of the starfish biologist Richard Rathbun of the Smithsonian Institution. He originally ranged this genus under the family Pycnopididae, synonymous with Asteriidae.
