Common starfish: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the common starfish lives – recorded in 12 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Asterias rubens
Group	Starfish, sea urchins & relatives
Found in	12 countries
Continents	Europe, North America
Class	Echinoderm
Order	Forcipulatida
Family	Asteriidae

Where does the common starfish live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the common starfish in 12 countries and territories across Europe and North America.

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 common starfish?

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

About the common starfish

The common starfish, common sea star or sugar starfish (Asterias rubens) is the most common and familiar starfish in the north-east Atlantic. Belonging to the family Asteriidae, it has five arms and usually grows to between 10–30 cm across, although larger specimens (up to 52 cm across) are known. The common starfish is usually orange or brownish in color, and sometimes violet; specimens found in deeper waters are pale. The common starfish is found on rocky and gravelly substrates where it feeds on mollusks and other benthic invertebrates.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Common starfish (revision 1379223320), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q21120 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).