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Project Noah Nature School
Pycnopodia helianthoides
This Seastar is among the largest and fastest in the world. It has a brown body and has a arm to arm span of more than 3 feet. The star has 22 arms of which 2 are missing. The star was attacking crabs in a crab pod and may have lost two arms during his attack or with previous encounters with rock fish or other crabs. It is reported that the arms will grow back in several weeks.
This sea star lives in the coastal waters within the protected tribal waters of the Annette Island Reserve. The Reserve is a part of the Metlakatla Indian Community, the only Indian Reservation in the state of Alaska. The star entered a crab pod located in shallow water depths.
The Sea star is an area used for subsistence fishing for the Metlakatla Indian Community. The Sea star was unintentionly trapped during an activity designed for the purposes of environmental awareness. The Sea Star was released back into the environment.
Spotted on Jun 21, 2013
Submitted on Jul 15, 2013
2 Comments
Brandon,
It was truly an amazing site to see the Sea Star looking for meal among the crabs. Too many claws for my liking. I did not check the crab pod to see if the arms were dinner for the crabs.
That is awsome