Wildlife of The Solway Firth [89] The Cushion Star
Wildlife of The Solway Firth [89]
The Cushion Star
Asterina Gibbosa
by Mark Vollers, The Lake District Coast Aquarium
The Cushion Starfish or Starlet is not uncommon on rocky western British coasts but is rarely seen because it spends most of its time underneath boulders and stones, its small size, (maximum 5 cm) and its nocturnal habits!
Although we have kept them at our Maryport Aquarium visitors are visually drawn to other larger more colourful species.
They generally have five stubby arms and are variable in colour, from brown to green to orange with a rough spiny surface and so blend in very well with their surroundings. They can be found in rockpools and down to depths of about 100m.
These starfish are described as being ‘protandrous hermaphrodites’ which in plain English means they all start of life as males, but at the age of three the vast majority have all become females and can start to lay egg masses which are stuck to the substrate.
The eggs hatch and for a while the larvae remain fixed to a rock surface before metamorphosing into tiny juvenile starfish, unlike most other starfish which have a free swimming planktonic larval stage.
They feed by grazing on the surface film of bacteria and diatoms on hard surfaces, but also take a meal from carrion when available.
An underside view of the starfish shows the numerous tube feet used for mobility and their central ‘mouth’ through which the stomach is protruded to envelop
and digest food.
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