Anseropoda placenta

Anseropoda placenta, also called the goose foot starfish, is a species of sea star in the family Asterinidae.

Description
Anseropoda placenta is up to 20 cm in diameter. It's a very thin, leaflike, flat sea star with short webbed arms. Its specific name placenta refers to a kind of flat cake. The aboral surface (top) has a texture of small plates; it is white with five radiating red lines, one down the centre of each arm.

Distribution
Most common in the Irish Sea and English Channel, and is more rarely found off Scotland. It is in rapid decline in Northern Ireland due to bottom fishing.

Environment
Anseropoda placenta is sublittoral, typically living at 20 - 40 m depth, in muddy sand or muddy gravel; it has been found as deep as 500 m.

Behaviour
Anseropoda placenta produces large eggs in the summer. It feeds on benthic molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms.