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Giant sea stars have a dense body with wide arms. Its surface is either tan or brown, but on occasion the giant sea star can have a yellowish or grayish surface. They contain thick, blunt spines that are bluish in color with white, pink or purple tips that are swollen and surrounded by brown fuzz
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that have a plier like shape. These pedicellariae are used as a protective mechanism against predators. They have no distinct pattern. They range from 36–48 cm (14–19 in) from the tip of one arm to the other. They are usually found up to 88 m (289 ft) down in the water.
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to their bodies. The gonads of the giant sea star grow in a winters time just in time for spawning season between the months of March and April.
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Landenberger, Donald E. "Studies on
Selective Feeding in the Pacific Starfish Pisaster in Southern California."
203:. It can grow as large as 24 in (61 cm) in diameter. Its color varies from brown to red or purple.
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feed on giant sea stars, and their larvae are eaten by certain types of
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contain spherical heads. Once their larvae are born, they are
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Giant sea stars are usually found around the protected
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Ecology, Vol. 49, No. 6 (Nov., 1968), pp. 1062-1075
338:"Classification of Southern California Sea Stars"
261:The giant sea star only has a few predators.
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299:Aquarius Aquarium Institute: Giant Sea Star
211:Giant sea stars have small eggs, and their
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187:that lives along the western coast of
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636:Taxa named by William Stimpson
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207:Reproduction and regeneration
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631:Starfish described in 1857
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41:Scientific classification
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308:. Online. March 3, 2008.
217:bilaterally symmetrical
386:"Pisaster Giganteus"
360:"Pisaster Giganteus"
193:Southern California
16:Species of starfish
447:Pisaster_giganteus
418:Pisaster giganteus
257:Predators and prey
168:Pisaster giganteus
150:Pisaster giganteus
25:Pisaster giganteus
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572:Open Tree of Life
410:Taxon identifiers
177:giant spined star
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132:P. giganteus
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366:on 6 August 2010
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173:giant sea star
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390:. Retrieved
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368:. Retrieved
364:the original
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341:. Retrieved
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585:SeaLifeBase
533:NatureServe
494:iNaturalist
313:Taxonomicon
243:Description
626:Asteriidae
620:Categories
319:References
279:gastropods
271:sea snails
263:Sea otters
233:coastlines
108:Asteriidae
88:Asteroidea
275:barnacles
267:sea birds
126:Species:
64:Kingdom:
58:Eukaryota
538:2.112810
512:10588073
433:Q1641889
427:Wikidata
392:12 April
370:12 April
343:12 April
283:bivalves
237:low tide
201:mollusks
185:sea star
157:Stimpson
119:Pisaster
104:Family:
74:Phylum:
68:Animalia
54:Domain:
486:2273740
388:. SiMOn
293:Sources
287:limpets
227:Habitat
114:Genus:
94:Order:
84:Class:
603:240758
577:173129
564:240758
551:189915
525:157256
473:598468
285:, and
171:, the
159:, 1857
598:WoRMS
590:49533
507:IRMNG
499:48833
460:4J8HV
235:with
213:sperm
191:from
179:, or
559:OBIS
546:NCBI
520:ITIS
481:GBIF
394:2012
372:2012
345:2012
265:and
248:and
468:EoL
455:CoL
442:ADW
195:to
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327:^
281:,
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396:.
374:.
347:.
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
