Starfish?

[Jax]

This guy is about 5" long (wide?), and is at the North Point site of San Pedro Island in San Carlos, Sonora, Mexico. The area is mostly rocky. I couldn't see it well in the dark, but the picture didn't help one bit!

This is not a 'normal' starfish, if indeed that is what it is. The 'normal' ones are green with black spikes, and occasionally gray with black and orange spikes.

 

[cdolphin]

Come to the Pacific Northwest, you'll see thirty different kinds. They are every possible color in the rainbow: all on one dive.

Apparently there are over 1,800 (2,000 according to WIKI) different species of stars. Good luck identifying yours!

 

[donnyb]

Poraniopsis inflata

 

[Jax]

Come to the Pacific Northwest, you'll see thirty different kinds. They are every possible color in the rainbow: all on one dive.

Apparently there are over 1,800 (2,000 according to WIKI) different species of stars. Good luck identifying yours!

:cold:

 

[livi120]

I don't think this is a Spiny Sea star Paraniopsis inflata as they seem to have a little longer arms than this one, and are more "spiny".

This looks to me more like a Cushion Sea Star (the juveniles don't show the geometric pattern) or it could even be the rarer Blunt-armed Sea Star that comes in a great variety of colors like red. These 2 occur in the Caribbean/Atlantic though. Don't know if they are also in the Mexican Pacific.

 

[donnyb]

Well it could be in the Genus Pentaceraster, though the tubercles are usually much more "orderly" in that Genus. Tricky with that angle of view.