Leather star (Dermasterias imbricata)

Classification (WoRMS)

Full classification as recorded by WoRMS: Kingdom: Animalia · Phylum: Echinodermata · Class: Asteroidea · Order: Valvatida · Family: Asteropseidae · Genus: Dermasterias.

Accepted name: Dermasterias imbricata · Authority: (Grube, 1857) · Taxonomic status: accepted · AphiaID: 240771.

Synonyms and superseded combinations recorded for this taxon: Asteropsis imbricata Grube, 1857; Dermasterias imbricata var. valvulifera Verrill, 1914; Dermasterias inermis (Gray, 1840); Gymnasteria inermis Gray, 1840.

Source: World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=240771 (CC BY 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Biology and life history (SeaLifeBase)

Measured values published by SeaLifeBase for Dermasterias imbricata. Only fields the database actually holds for this species are shown; these are database values, not aquarium guidance.

Maximum length: 30 cm · Depth range: 0–91 m · Habitat zone: benthic · Vulnerability index: 20 of 100.

SeaLifeBase notes: Minimum depth from Ref. 865. It is found on rocks, occasionally on sand from the very low intertidal to a depth of 90 meters (Ref. 865).

Source: SeaLifeBase species summary (SpecCode 49507) — https://www.sealifebase.se/summary/Dermasterias-imbricata.html (CC BY-NC 3.0 — non-commercial use only). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Distribution and occurrence records (GBIF)

262,608 georeferenced occurrence records for Dermasterias imbricata are published through GBIF from 4 countries or marine areas. The map above plots 45 distinct locations from a sample of 3,000 records, omitting 57 inland records that carry an institution's coordinates rather than a collection site; it shows where the species has been observed and reported, not a modelled range.

Most records by country or area: United States of America (249,589); Canada (12,995); Mexico (23); United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (1).

The full country table, WoRMS marine regions and the sampling notes are on this species' Distribution page.

Source: GBIF Occurrence Search (taxonKey 2271961) — https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search?taxon_key=2271961&has_coordinate=true (records CC0 / CC BY); WoRMS distribution records (MarineRegions) — https://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=240771 (CC BY 4.0); Natural Earth 110m basemap — https://www.naturalearthdata.com/ (public domain). Accessed 2026-09-25.

Description and natural history (Wikipedia)

The leather star has a broad central disc and five plump, short arms which taper broadly from the central disc. The arms have two rows of tube feet and no bordering marginal plates. The upper, aboral, surface is smooth and velvety, made more so by the absence of spines and a light layer of mucous.

It is covered with a reticulated pattern in reddish-brown, often with patches of greyish-blue. No pedicellariae are present, but the madreporite can be seen. This starfish can grow to about 30 cm in diameter and has a distinctive smell that resembles garlic and sulphur.

Distribution and habitat

The range of the leather star includes the western seaboard of North America from Cook Inlet, Alaska to northern Mexico. It occurs in Puget Sound. It lives in the intertidal zone and in deeper water down to depths of about 100 m. It is found on rocky bottoms and occasionally sandy seabeds.

Biology

The leather star feeds on algae and a range of invertebrates, including other asteroids, bryozoans, sea urchins, sponges, sea cucumbers, hydroids, sea pens, and colonial tunicates.

It is in turn preyed on by the morning sun star (Solaster dawsoni). In its attempts to evade this voracious predator, it crawls away at a maximum speed of 15 cm/min, but this is too slow, and leather stars make up 50% of the diet of morning sun stars.

Off the Washington coast, spawning is from April to August. The females release yellow eggs which are fertilized in the water column. The larvae then become part of the zooplankton.

The leather star sometimes lives symbiotically with the scaleworm Arctonoe vittata. The worm also associates with various other marine invertebrates, but if separated from its host, will search out another member of the same species. The worm may nip off the heads of small tube-dwelling polychaetes as the starfish moves around, but is not harmed by its host.

The parasitic barnacle genus Dendrogaster is sometimes an endoparasite of the leather star.

Source: Wikipedia: Leather star — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leather_star (CC BY-SA 4.0). Accessed 2026-09-25.