Echinoderms - Northern Starfish 

The scientific name for the Northern Starfish is Asterias vulgaris. It is pink or pale violet to a green, in color, grading to an off-white at the end of the arms. The body wall is strengthened by a specific pattern of plates. This species prefers a hard surface and is found from the low tide mark down to depths of about 800 meters. The Northern Starfish is distributed from the North Sea, the west coast of the Shetland Islands up to Spitzbergen, Greenland, and North America. They use "tube feet" which are connected to ampullae to move. When ampullae contract, fluid is forced into the tube feet, extending them; small muscles direct the tube feet in one direction or another. Sea stars migrate to deeper waters in the winter. An active individual could travel a mile in about on week.