Echinodermata · echinoderms

Blood star

Henricia sanguinolenta

Echinasteridae · blood starsIUCN: Not evaluated
Blood star
Photo: This photo has been taken by Matthieu Sontag (User:Mirgolth) and released under the licenses stated below. You · CC BY 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons · resized

A slender, blood-red sea star of New England tide pools.

Fun factFemales brood their eggs under their bodies instead of releasing them.

Waters
Northeast US, Northwest Atlantic, Northeast Atlantic, Arctic Ocean
Depth zone
Intertidal shore, Coastal shallows & estuaries, Continental shelf
Diet
Sponges & particles caught in mucus
Size
Up to 10 cm

Classification

Echinodermata › Asteroidea › Echinasteridae

  1. Kingdom Animalia animals
    • Many-celled organisms that eat other living things for energy (heterotrophs)
    • Cells have no cell walls
    • Most can move at some stage of life
  2. Clade Bilateria bilateral animals
    • Body has a left and right side that mirror each other (bilateral symmetry)
    • Head end with concentrated nerves; three tissue layers
    • Includes about 99% of all living animal species
  3. Clade Deuterostomia deuterostomes
    • In the embryo, the first opening becomes the anus and the mouth forms second
    • Includes echinoderms and chordates
  4. Phylum Echinodermata echinoderms
    • Adults usually have five-part radial symmetry
    • Water-vascular system powers tiny tube feet
    • Skeleton of limestone plates (ossicles) in the skin
  5. Class Asteroidea sea stars
    • Sea stars: usually five or more arms joined broadly to a central disc
    • Tube feet on the underside of each arm
    • Many push their stomach out to digest prey
  6. Family Echinasteridae blood stars
    • Slender, often red sea stars with rounded arms
    • Many brood their young
  7. Genus Henricia
    • Species in the same genus are very close relatives and often look alike.
  8. Species Henricia sanguinolenta Blood star

Closest relatives in the guide