''Echinaster sepositus'', the Mediterranean red sea star (sometimes only red sea star, but this name is also used for other species), is a

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

starfish Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea (). Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or basket stars. Starfish ...

from the East Atlantic, including the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

.Villamor, A.; and M. A. Becerro. (2010). ''Matching spatial distributions of the sea star Echinaster sepositus and crustose coralline algae in shallow rocky Mediterranean communities.'' Marine Biology 157: 2241-2251.

Description

''Echinaster sepositus'' has five relatively slender arms around a small central disc. It usually has a diameter of up to , but can exceptionally reach up to .European Marine Life:
Echinaster sepositus
'' Retrieved 12 December 2015. It is a bright orange-red in colour, and has a soapy surface texture unlike superficially similar ''

Henricia ''Henricia'' is a large genus of slender-armed sea stars belonging to the family Echinasteridae. It contains about fifty species. The sea stars from this genus are ciliary suspension-feeders, filtering phytoplankton. Species According to the Wo ...

'' starfish (another somewhat similar species from the same region is ''

Ophidiaster ophidianus ''Ophidiaster ophidianus'', the purple starfish, is a species of starfish from the East Atlantic (from mainland Portugal and the Azores down to the Gulf of Guinea) and the Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the At ...

''). The surface is dotted with evenly spaced pits from which the animal can extend its deep red gills (

papula Papulae (sing. papula; also occasionally papulla, papullae), also known as dermal branchiae or skin gills, are projections of the coelom of Asteroidea that serve in respiration and waste removal. Papulae are soft, covered externally with the epi ...

Distribution

''Echinaster sepositus'' is found in the East Atlantic north of the

Equator The equator is a circle of latitude, about in circumference, that divides Earth into the Northern and Southern hemispheres. It is an imaginary line located at 0 degrees latitude, halfway between the North and South poles. The term can als ...

, including the Mediterranean Sea where it is one of the most common starfish (although virtually absent from some localities). Its northern limit is the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

, but only on the French side. It is found at depths of in a wide range of habitats, including rocky, sandy and muddy bottoms, and sea grass meadows (''

Posidonia oceanica ''Posidonia oceanica'', commonly known as Neptune grass or Mediterranean tapeweed, is a seagrass species that is endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. It forms large underwater meadows that are an important part of the ecosystem. The fruit is free f ...

'' and ''

Zostera ''Zostera'' is a small genus of widely distributed seagrasses, commonly called marine eelgrass, or simply seagrass or eelgrass, and also known as seaweed by some fishermen and recreational boaters including yachtsmen. The genus ''Zostera'' con ...

'').Villamor, A.; R. Espluga; and M.A. Becerro (2010). ''Feeding habits of the common sea star Echinaster sepositus and its ecological implications on Mediterranean shallow rocky bottoms''.
résumé
). VI Simposio Ibérico de Estudios de Biología Marina, Alicante, Spain.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2118980 sepositus Starfish described in 1805