• Norwegian: gul solstjerne

Characteristics:

This is one of the few sea stars with more than five arms. It usually has 9, but everything between 7 and 13 arms are normal. It cannot be confused with the common sun star, although this too has a large number of arms. The coloration varies from pale yellow, to bright purple or red. It can grow to a diameter of 40 cm, but 20 cm is a common size.

Habitat:

It is usually found on mud, sand or gravel, on depths from the subtidal zone and down to 450 meters.

Distribution:

This is circumpolar, northern species, found in the Arctic, the Atlantic as well as the Pacific Ocean. In Europe it can be found as far south as Holland, but is more frequent further north.