Asterina Starlets Asterina spp.

There are small sea stars (starlets) in the Asterina genus native to seas throughout the world. Some are tiny and most eat algae, bacteria and detritus but some eat living coral. The 5-armed Starlet Cushion native to coastal waters of the northeastern Atlantic grows to 5cm across and is described on a separate page. The 5-armed Asterina phylactica, also native to the NE Atlantic and, until 1979, thought to be the same species, grows to only 1.5cm across. Those shown here are also tiny and usually 6-armed (but can grow an extra 1-2).

Several Asterina species look similar. They can reproduce by losing an arm; the "lost" arm will grow into a whole new sea star and the parent will regrow the lost arm. The population can increase quickly reproducing in this way.