Leather Starfish
Dermasterias imbricata
A soft sea star that smells surprisingly garlicky.
Leather Starfish feel smooth and slippery because mucus coats their unusually soft upper surface. They creep across cool Pacific seafloors hunting anemones and other invertebrates.
Find this SeaPal in the card gallery
From field guide to game table
Bring this Leather Starfish home
See which ready-to-play decks feature this SeaPal. Try one in the simulator before you buy, or explore each full deck list.
- 1 copy
Ready-to-play deck
Murky Water Deck
Includes 1 card featuring Leather Starfish.
Quick dive
Creature passport
- Home
- Rocky and sandy shallows from Alaska to northern Mexico.
- Favorite foods
- Sea anemones, urchins, sponges, sea cucumbers, and other invertebrates.
- Size check
- Up to 10 in (25 cm) across — dinner-plate width
Tell-your-friends facts
Four wonderfully wild things
- 1
Its wet-leather texture gives the species its name.
- 2
Out of water, it may smell like garlic or spent fireworks.
- 3
A small scale worm sometimes rides beneath the star.
- 4
Some swimming anemones detach and flee when a Leather Star touches them.
Ocean superpower
Built to be amazing
It turns its stomach outward to digest prey outside its body.
Junior scientist tip
What should I look for?
Find five broad arms with smooth mottled red, brown, and gray skin.
Grown-up research links
We used trusted science organizations to check this profile.