| Pisaster brevispinus | |
|---|---|
| Scale comparison against human foot | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Echinodermata |
| Class: | Asteroidea |
| Order: | Forcipulatida |
| Family: | Asteriidae |
| Genus: | Pisaster |
| Species: | P. brevispinus |
| Binomial name | |
| Pisaster brevispinus Stimpson, 1857 |
|
Pisaster brevispinus, commonly called the Pink Sea Star, Giant Pink Sea Star, or Short-spined Sea Star, is a Pacific Ocean sea star.
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The Pink Star is a very unusual color, a bright shade of pink. Although such a color would lead to the species being eaten regularly in darker-colored environments, it blends right in to its bright coral reef home. The Pink Star can reach a diameter of two feet while weighing up to two pounds, and has spines less than 2mm long. It has a soft, flabby texture that allows it to bend slightly to stay on coral.
Pisaster brevispinus is usually found on sand or mud substrate where it catches its prey such as clams or sand dollars. Smaller individuals are sometimes seen on rocks or pilings where they prey on mussels, barnacles, and tubeworms. This species is also known to scavenge on dead fish and squid. The giant pink sea star does not tolerate being out of water very well, so it is generally found on the beach only during very low tides. It usually lives at a depth of 600 feet.
The Pink Star's many adaptations allow for a thriving population through the world's oceans. One of these is regeneration, a trait shared by all sea stars: any part of the Pink Star can grow into a whole new sea star as long as it has part of the central disk. Another adaptation is its coarse, hard skin for protection. Animals like to stay clean, and the Pink Star has developed an interesting way to keep clean. It has microscopic pinchers on its skin called pedicellaria to keep the skin clean. It has eyespots at the end of each arm to see in every direction, which are useful for detecting predators. This sea star has eyespots that can see in the light and in the dark. One of the most important adaptations a sea creature could have is tube feet. These feet have strong suckers that can pry apart clams and mussels. They can also attach onto a rock to keep the organism stationary. The Pink Star also has many predators. The most common predators of these creatures are sharks, manta rays, and large bony fish.
Starfish commonly reproduce using a method called free-spawning. This means that they release their gametes into the water, where they will hopefully be fertilized by the gamete from the opposite sex. It is thought that groups, when they are ready to spawn, use environmental signals to coordinate their timing. Once fertilization has occurred the egg develops from an embryo into a larva which feeds on small algae. During its planktic period the larva proceeds through several developmental phases going from gastrula to bipinnaria to brachiolaria. Towards the end of the last stage the larva develops a large sack like structure, a primordium, and begins searching for a suitable surface on which to settle.
After settling into a home, the larva changes into a juvenile starfish. This process takes about 2 days. Initially the juvenile starfish has only 5 arms but additional arms develop rapidly as the starfish begins to feed on encrusting algae. At the end of 6 months the starfish is about 1 cm in size and begins to feed on corals. The starfish becomes sexually mature at the end of its second year by which time it has grown to about 20 cm in diameter. After 3–4 years (when the starfish is about 35 cm in size) it is thought to go into a senile phase where growth declines dramatically and reproduction is low. This phase has been identified only in the laboratory. It is not known how long starfish live however, they have been kept in aquaria for as long as 8 years.
The species Piaster brevispinus was made famous through the children's show Spongebob Squarepants. Where the main character, Spongebob, is the neighbor and best friend of Patrick Star, a pink Starfish.