Asterias amurensis: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the asterias amurensis lives – recorded in 5 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Asterias amurensis
Group	Starfish, sea urchins & relatives
Found in	5 countries
Continents	Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania
Class	Echinoderm
Order	Forcipulatida
Family	Asteriidae

Where does the asterias amurensis live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the asterias amurensis in 5 countries and territories across Asia, Europe, North America and Oceania.

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

What kind of animal is the asterias amurensis?

The asterias amurensis (Asterias amurensis) is an echinoderm in the order Forcipulatida and the family Asteriidae, genus Asterias. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the asterias amurensis

Asterias amurensis, also known as the Northern Pacific seastar and Japanese common starfish, is a seastar found in shallow seas and estuaries, native to the coasts of northern China, Korea, far eastern Russia, Japan, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and British Columbia in Canada. Two forms are recognised: the nominate and forma robusta from the Strait of Tartary. It mostly preys on large bivalve molluscs, and it is mostly preyed on by other species of starfish. Population booms in Japan can affect the harvest of mariculture operations and are costly to combat.

This species has been introduced to oceanic areas of southern Australia, and is an invasive species there causing damage to native species, especially in Tasmania.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Asterias amurensis (revision 1379788775), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q1140786 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).