Spiny Starfish Marthasterias glacialis
The Spiny Starfish is native to the eastern Atlantic from Iceland to southern Africa, including the North Sea
and the Mediterranean. It is the only species in its genus.
One Spiny Starfish.
Two Spiny Starfish.
Three Spiny Starfish - Star Wars.
It has five arms and a top surface covered in small pale spikes. A large starfish, it can reach
70cm (over 2 feet) across but is usually half that. It can detach a leg under stress and it will grow back.
Diet is mainly bivalve molluscs, mainly mussels and small clams, but also scavenged crab and fish.
(It can sometimes be confused with the spiny but much smaller Northern Starfish, Leptasterias muelleri, of the northern Atlantic.)
(It can sometimes be confused with the spiny but much smaller Northern Starfish, Leptasterias muelleri, of the northern Atlantic.)