Add Yahoo as a preferred source to see more of our stories on Google. Sunflower sea stars, the largest of sea stars, were formerly common in tide pools in Oregon. However, this species has suffered ...

A decade after they vanished from the ocean, the discovery of this lost colony of sunflower sea stars offers new hope for California's kelp forests.

Sea urchins have no brains or hearts. But put them in the proximity of the unmistakable sunflower sea star, and somewhere in their pin cushion-like body, they sense trouble. That's the main finding of ...

For the last decade, California's offshore seafloors have been missing a massive, colorful predator that keeps kelp-munching sea urchins in check. The sunflower sea star is a big starfish—more than 3 ...

Sunflower stars, like this orange-tinted version, have 20 or more arms. (Courtesy Steve Lonhart) A look inside the Sunflower Star Laboratory. (Courtesy Reuven Bank) Typical coloring of sunflower stars ...

There are so few of the sunflower sea stars remaining, researchers don’t think there are enough for them to find each other on their own to reproduce – so the species is getting a helping hand from ...

Purple sea urchins, beware: There’s a purple urchin-eating predator on the horizon — and its name is the sunflower sea star. That’s the plot line coming from a small upstart research facility in Moss ...

For the last decade, California’s offshore seafloors have been missing a massive, colorful predator that keeps kelp-munching sea urchins in check. The sunflower sea star is a big starfish — more than ...