Ochre sea star: More Information
Description: A classic “starfish” shape, ochre sea stars have five arms, each ending in a blunt point. Despite the name, ochre sea stars also come in purple to dark rose. All the back surface of an ochre sea star is covered with a loose net pattern of hard, light-colored bumps that protrude through a velvety surface; a small, light-colored bald spot is nearly always visible in the central back area. These sea stars can grow up to just over a foot wide.
Taxonomy:
| Kingdom | Animalia -- Animal, animals, animaux | ||
| Phylum | Echinodermata Klein, 1734 -- bolacha da praia, échinodermes, echinoderms, equinoderma, equinodermata, estrela do mar, ouriço do mar | ||
| Subphylum | Eleutherozoa Bather, 1900 | ||
| Superclass | Asterozoa Zittel, 1895 | ||
| Class | Asteroidea de Blainville, 1830 -- estrela do mar, étoiles de mer, sea stars, sea stars, starfishes, starfishes, stelléridés | ||
| Order | Forcipulatida H. E. S. Clark, 1963 | ||
| Family | Asteriidae Gray, 1840 | ||
| Genus | Pisaster Müller and Troschel, 1840 | ||
| Species | Pisaster ochraceus (Brandt, 1835) |
Taxonomic information source: ITIS.gov