Morning Sun Star

This seastar is a known predator of other seastars.

Dawson's sun star

Some S. dawsoni have a color pattern on the aboral surface, but note there are no blue-gray stripes running down the rays.

A view of the oral side of S. dawsoni

Another view of the open mouth, this time underwater through aquarium glass.

The aboral ossicles or paxillae are well separated. These are magnified.

The ossicles along the edge of the ambulacral groove (which is at the top in this photo) are enlarged into marginal plates.

This S. dawsoni is swallowing a Leptasterias hexactis that it captured. Notice also the commensal Arctonoesp polychaete scaleworm on the ray.

This Solaster dawsoni (left) was found eating this Dermasterias imbricata on the right at low tide. Photo by Brooke Reiswig, July 2006

A tiny Solaster dawsoni among hydroids. Underwater photo by Kirt Onthank, August 2007

This small individual is about 2.5 cm in total diameter. Photo by Dave Cowles, July 2012

The paxillae of the small individual shown above look different from those of adults. The sack-like prejections are papulae. Photo by Dave Cowles, July 2012

A closeup of the ray tips of the small individual above. Photo by Dave Cowles, July 2012

Solaster dawsoni collected from near Northwest Island, WA. Scale is in centimeters (Photo by: Dave Cowles, August 2005)