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Cushion Sea Star

Patiriella calcar

Description:

This seastar normally has eight arms, but sometimes 7 and 9 armed individuals are found. This is a moderately large seastar with clear-cut, short, tapering, pointed arms. Colour: The colour on top is extremely varied and often beautiful. Colours may include many colours of the spectrum including white, grey, cream, orange, red, brown, green, blue, mauve and black, often mottled and varied. Underneath uniformly pale.

Habitat:

This is one seastar which is restricted to the tidal region and just below. Abundant in shallow rock pools, in cracks and in deep pools near the low tide region. Many often occurring together.

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48 Comments (1–25)

SukanyaDatta
SukanyaDatta 5 years ago

How perfectly wonderful! How colourful! Super captures MacChristiansen

Happy 2019, everyone.

Gorgeous series Mac,just beautiful,perfect to the ocasion Danièle and a happy new year to all :-)

DanielePralong
DanielePralong 5 years ago

Hard to believe these colorful sea stars have never been rewarded! Today is the day! Happy New Year to you Mac, and to all in the Project Noah community. Thank you for your contributions all these years!

"Who needs fireworks when you have Carpet Sea Stars? Happy New Year to all our users and followers ! Our very best wishes to all for 2019. We are grateful to all our users for their contributions in 2018. We hope to continue to inspire you with nature spottings from around the world and engage you, now more than ever, with documenting and learning about the natural world we all depend on. On a positive note we will be bringing changes to our site, which will be announced in January 2019".

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For sure Brian :-)

Brian38
Brian38 5 years ago

Obviously the inspiration behind the Antikythera mechanism.

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 10 years ago

Thanks FelixO

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 10 years ago

Thanks venusflytrap2000, I was able to touch them, they had a very rough texture, almost like sandpaper

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 10 years ago

Thanks Gerardo

FelixO
FelixO 10 years ago

great colors!

Caleb Steindel
Caleb Steindel 10 years ago

so mac, what did they feel like? were you able to touch them?

Caleb Steindel
Caleb Steindel 10 years ago

love that last one...

Gerardo Aizpuru
Gerardo Aizpuru 10 years ago

Wow fantastic

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 10 years ago

Thanks ceejayalyssa

ceejayalyssa
ceejayalyssa 10 years ago

pretty colors~

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 11 years ago

Thanks Andrea Lim

Andrea Lim
Andrea Lim 11 years ago

Wonderful series of photos Mac. Great spotting!

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 11 years ago

Thanks injica

injica
injica 11 years ago

Wonderful, especially this 1st photo where they are all together! Tnx for sharing :)

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 11 years ago

Found them like this, then separated them for individual photos Maria

Maria dB
Maria dB 11 years ago

I'm curious like ShannaB - did you find these all together like this?

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 11 years ago

Thanks Daniel

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 11 years ago

Thanks Jonathan

DanielHernández
DanielHernández 11 years ago

CCChhhuuuzzzooo

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 11 years ago

Thanks Reza

ChunXingWong
ChunXingWong 11 years ago

One big colorful family.

MacChristiansen
Spotted by
MacChristiansen

Iluka, New South Wales, Australia

Spotted on Oct 31, 2012
Submitted on Oct 31, 2012

Spotted for Mission

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