The Leather Star (Dermasterias imbricata) has smooth, slippery, leathery skin on its upper suface, hence its name. If you find a leather star NOT attached to rocks and can pick it up without damaging its' tube feet, turn the star over and smell the mouth...there will be the faint whiff of garlic breath! All my reference books say a leather star can grow to 8" in diameter, but the one we found at Sisters Rocks (below) in the summer of 2010 was closer to 10"...absolutely huge!
Leather stars are carnivorous (as are all sea stars) and feed on sea anemones, sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Judging by the photo below, the leather star may be attempting a lunch of Giant Green Anemones...though in this case, his eyes may be bigger than his stomach! A leather star will put its arm on top of a sea anemone to determine how large it is. If the anemone is too large, the leather star will move on to another, smaller anemone.
The Leather Star's tube feet are clearly visible in the photo below (the white spikes projecting from the cream-colored underside of the star's arm), as well as its white eye-spots at the end of each arm. All Sea stars have these "eyes", and while they can't see clearly, they are able to distinguish between light and dark.
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