Bat Sea Star

The Bat Sea Star belongs to the family Asterinidae. You can find these creatures in the intertidal zone along the Pacific coast from Alaska down to Mexico. This small species of sea stars (only reaching lengths up to 8 in.) can come in a variety of colors. Majority are seen to be reddish orange or mottled white, but some can have patterns of different colors like brown, purple and pink. You can either call this species the ‘bat sea star’ or the ‘webbed star” because of the appearance of their arms. If you look in between their arms, you will see they look “webbed”. This “webbing” resembles a bats wing, giving them their name. The Bat Sea star is an omnivore and a scavenger. They are seen feeding on algae and other plant matter, as well as other sea stars and tunicates. If there is a decaying animal nearby, this species is seen in large groups consuming it. On one of the pictures, you can see the underside of the sea star. That is where their mouth and other organs are located. They will push their stomach out of their mouth, digest the food, then pull the nutrients back in. Their main predators are other sea stars and mollusks. For that reason, they have an adaptation that allows them to secrete a chemical when threatened that stimulates the violent escape response in other animals, causing them to flee.

It is good to note that this species of sea star is not poisonous. There are only a few of those. Before the pandemic, the Georgia Aquarium use to have Bat Sea stars in the touch pool. I used to love the touch pool with these little guys ❤️.

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