Purple Sunstar
Solaster endeca

Habitat: Kelp forest, rocky reef and sea bed
Depth: 10-400m
Food: Other starfish, especially common starfish, and sea cucumbers
Size: Up to 40cm across
Lifespan: Unknown
Conservation Status: Not Evaluated (NE)
Purple sunstars may also be orange in colour. They have between 7 and 13 arms. The arms have hundreds of suckered tube feet on the underside to help them cling to rocks and move about. Purple sunstars eat other starfish. The attacker will hold onto its prey with its tube feet then turn out its stomach and release digestive juices to dissolve the victim’s flesh.