|
|
 |
 |
The Intertidal Wilderness
A Photographic Journey through Pacific Coast Tidepools
Anne Wertheim Rosenfeld
Plate 94: Cryptic starfish
There are at least fifteen Leptasterias starfish in this picture, some of which are very hard to discern against a typically diverse and varied background. Mottled coloration may make this small starfish difficult for a potential predatorÑhunting by sightÑto discover. Predators hunting by smell would have better luck. As predators themselves, starfish concentrated at high density in such a small space would have considerable impact ecologically.
Copyright 2002 by Anne Wertheim Rosenfeld. Not to be reproduced without written permission of the publisher.