The Stimpson Sun Star (Solaster Stimpsoni) is usually found only at the very low-tide line, and it is thrilling to find one of these rare beauties. We found this Stimpson Sun Star north of Gold Beach at Sisters Rocks. It is a voracious predator and its favorite prey are sea cucumbers. The Stimpson Sun Star typically has 10 arms, and can grow up to 20" in diameter. This speciman had 11 arms but was only 10" in diameter. What it lacked in size, it more than made up for in its spectacular coloring!
We found our first Stimpson Sun Star in 2007 (below) with its arms wrapped around a sea cucumber....its favorite meal. This one wasn't nearly as colorful as the one we recently spotted (above), but it did have the signature bluish-gray lines down each arm.
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