Marin Primary Middle School Mendocino Trip

Sea Stars and Brittle Stars

The Asterozoa are a subphylum in the phylum Echinodermata. Characteristics include a star-shaped body and radially divergent axes of symmetry. The subphylum includes the two classes Asteroidea, the starfish, and Ophiuroidea, the brittle stars and basket stars, and the extinct order Somasteroidea.

Leptasterias

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.

Bat Star

The bat star (Patiria miniata), also known as a sea bat, webbed star, and broad-disk star, is a species of sea star (also called a starfish) 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 ...more ↓

Red Sea Urchin

The red sea urchin (Mesocentrotus franciscanus) is a sea urchin found in the Pacific Ocean from Alaska to Baja California. It lives in shallow waters from the low-tide line to greater than 100 m (330 ft) deep, and is typically found on rocky shores sheltered from extreme wave action.

Edited by Catie Clune, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)