Common Name: Bat Star
Scientific Name: Patiria miniata
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family: Animalia, Echinodermata, Asteroidea, Spinulosida, Asterinidae
Diet: Omnivorous, scavenger
Habitat: Rocks, sand bottom, surf-grass, kelp; between low-tide region to ~300m depths
Range: Pacific Coast from Alaska to Mexico
Identification: ~5 arms that have tissue “webbing” between each arm, orange/brown/purple coloration
Reproduction: Broadcast spawning (discharge fertile sperm and eggs into water)
Behavior: Move slowly with tube-feet and can extend its stomach out of its body
Predators: Other Sea stars, mollusks, and crustaceans
Fact: Wasting disease has caused a large decline in sea stars, starting around 2013, through rapid tissue decay that is highly contagious.