Leather Star

Fascinating facts about the Leather Star

• The leather star emits a strong odour that is often compared to garlic and sulphur, a trait that makes it easy to recognise when handling it. It inhabits the intertidal zone and can also be found on the seabed down to about 100 metres depth, preferring rocky substrates but sometimes occurring on sand. Its distribution stretches along the western coast of North America from Cook Inlet in Alaska to northern Mexico, including Puget Sound.
• The upper, aboral surface of the leather star feels smooth and velvety to the touch, a texture enhanced by a thin layer of mucus that coats the body. Unlike many other starfish, it lacks spines and marginal plates, giving the skin a soft, leather-like quality. This smoothness is especially noticeable on the broad central disc and the short, plump arms that taper outward. Such a surface may aid the star in moving over both rocky and sandy bottoms without abrasion.
• An adult leather star can reach a diameter of about 30 centimetres, giving it a sizeable presence on the seafloor. This size allows it to prey on a variety of invertebrates such as sea urchins, sponges and colonial tunicates, as well as to compete with other asteroids. Its large footprint also makes it a common target for the morning sun star, which can consume it rapidly despite the leather star's modest escape speed of 15 cm per minute.
• Leather stars constitute half of the morning sun star's diet, highlighting their role as a key prey item. When threatened by this voracious predator, the leather star attempts to flee by crawling, but its maximum speed of only 15 cm per minute is insufficient to escape. Consequently, despite its efforts, many are captured and consumed, reinforcing their significance in the predator's feeding habits.
• The scaleworm Arctonoe vittata often forms a symbiotic partnership with the leather star, living on its surface while the star moves across the seabed. The worm is not exclusive to this host and also associates with other marine invertebrates, yet if it becomes detached it will actively seek another leather star of the same species.

Sources

Every fact above was checked against these pages, and kept only where one of them states it.

• Wikipedia

At a glance

About the Leather Star

In the dimly lit recesses of the ocean floor, the leather star unfurls its delicate, lacy arms, as if embracing the shadows themselves. With a gentle, almost ethereal motion, it glides across the substrate, its soft, flexible body undulating like a dark, underwater flower, leaving behind a trail of subtle, whispered impressions in the sediment. As it moves, the intricate patterns of its arms seem to shift and shimmer, like the faint, whispered secrets of the deep.

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