Name: Spiny Starfish (Marthasterias glacialis)

Where: Northern Norway to the Mediterranean and West Africa.

Size: 70 cm

Average lifespan: 13 years

Diet: Carnivorous – they consume mostly bivalve mollusks.

Weird Info: It has been found that secondary metabolites known as saponins, found within the starfish’s tissues, have a dramatic effect on the whelk Buccinum undatum (At low concentrations they cause the mollusc to withdraw from the vicinity of the starfish and at higher concentrations they cause convulsions in the mollusc’s musculature).

General Info:

• Marthasterias glacialis is found from extremely low water to about 200 meters. It can be found in a variety of habitats, from sheltered muddy sites to wave-exposed rock faces.
• 5 narrow tapering arms- Arms with 3 longitudinal rows of white spines (usually purple-tipped). Spines surrounded by cushions of pedicellariae. Pale grey to green, tinged with purple, yellow or reddish.