Leather Star, Dermasterias imbricata

Leather Star, Dermasterias Imbricata. Underwater photograph taken in the coastal waters off Monterey, California, February 2022. Photograph and identification courtesy of Bob Hillis, Ivins, Utah.

Phylogeny:  The Leather Star,  Dermasterias imbricata (Grube, 1857), is a member of the Astropseidae Family of Star Fish. Dermasterias is one of five genera in the family, and  is the only member of the Demasterias genus. The Leather Star is also known as the Garlic Sea Star and in Mexico as estrella de mar de piel.

Morphology:  The Leather Star has a disc that is almost as wide as the arms are long. The arms are wide, short, and tapering. They are gray to bluish gray in color, with numerous orange or red blotches covering the entire dorsal surface. They do not have marginal plates, spines, or pedicellariae and are fairly soft and pliable. The skin has a slippery and leathery texture. They reach a maximum of 30 cm (12 inches) in diameter. These stars have an odor resembling garlic, burnt gunpowder, or sulphur.

Habitat and Distribution: Leather Stars are usually found attached to rocks but are occasionally found on sand or mud. They prefer areas that are somewhat protected from wave action. They live in the lower intertidal zone to depths up to 91 m (300 feet).  The Leather Star has a limited distribution in Mexican waters of the Pacific Ocean being found in coastal waters off northwest Baja California from the United States border south to the Sacramento Reef.

Diet: Leather Stars primarily consume sea anemones and limited amounts of algae, bryozoans, sea cucumbers, sea pens, other sea stars, sea urchins, sponges and colonial tunicates.

 Predators:  Leather Stars are preyed upon by other sea stars, especially sun stars.

Reproduction:  Leather Stars can reproduce asexually, through regeneration or clonal reproduction, or sexually. Leather stars are gonochoristic (male or female for life). They are broadcast spawners, releasing clouds of sperm and eggs into the water column where fertilization occurs. The developing eggs and their resulting larvae are initially planktonic before settling to the bottom. They under go several larval stages. Spawning usually takes place at night, during the spring and summer months.

Ecosystem Interactions:  Leather Stars are known to host ectoparastic barnacles and may shelter scale worms in their ambulacral grooves.

Human Interactions:  Leather Stars have no significant direct impact on human activities. From a conservation perspective the Leather Star has not been formally evaluated.

Synonyms:   Asteropsis imbricata, Dermasterias inermis, and Gymnasterias inermis.