# Common starfish (*Asterias rubens*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-starfish  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The common starfish (Asterias rubens) is a species in the family Asteriidae, order Forcipulatida. It has been recorded in 38 countries, most often in United Kingdom, Netherlands and Germany.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | Not recorded |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Lifespan | Not recorded |
| Main food | Not recorded |
| Habitat | Not recorded |
| Young per litter or clutch | Not recorded |
| Conservation status | Not recorded |
| Recorded in | 38 countries |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Echinodermata
- class: Asteroidea
- order: Forcipulatida
- family: Asteriidae
- genus: Asterias
- species: *Asterias rubens* Linnaeus, 1758

Synonyms: *Asteracanthion distichum*, *Asteracanthion rubens*, *Asteracanthion violaceus*, *Asteracanthium distichum*, *Asterias attenuata*, *Asterias clathrata*, *Asterias distichum*, *Asterias fabricii*, *Asterias gigantea*, *Asterias glacialis*, *Asterias holsatica*, *Asterias minuta*, *Asterias murrayi*, *Asterias pallida*, *Asterias spinosa*, *Asterias stimpsoni*, *Asterias violacea*, *Asterias vulgaris*, *Stellonia rubens*, *Uraster rubens*, *Uraster violaceus*

## Where it has been recorded

Countries with openly licensed sighting records on GBIF (records in brackets). Recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

United Kingdom (41693), Netherlands (14258), Germany (7747), Sweden (7359), Denmark (5524), Ireland (4151), Canada (3745), Norway (3316), United States (1824), France (1677), Isle of Man (861), Belgium (551), Russia (129), Iceland (53), Spain (40), Georgia (39), Portugal (36), Guernsey (26), St. Pierre & Miquelon (18), Vietnam (9), Madagascar (7), Faroe Islands (6), Türkiye (6), Congo - Kinshasa (5), Jersey (3), New Caledonia (3), Greenland (2), Greece (2), Indonesia (2), Italy (2), Poland (2), Svalbard & Jan Mayen (2), Japan (1), Morocco (1), Senegal (1), Thailand (1), Mayotte (1), South Africa (1)

## Common questions

### Where does the common starfish live?

The common starfish has openly licensed sighting records from 38 countries on GBIF. The most records come from United Kingdom, Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and Denmark. These are recorded sightings, not a definitive range.

### What kind of animal is the common starfish?

The common starfish (Asterias rubens) belongs to the family Asteriidae in the order Forcipulatida.

## Sources

- [GBIF Backbone Taxonomy](https://www.gbif.org/dataset/d7dddbf4-2cf0-4f39-9b2a-bb099caae36c), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF Secretariat. GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org.
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org/), CC0 1.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata, the free knowledge base.
- [GBIF occurrence aggregates (CC0 and CC BY records only)](https://www.gbif.org/occurrence/search), CC BY 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. GBIF.org occurrence search, country facet counts restricted to CC0 1.0 and CC BY 4.0 records.
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/), Per file, live API 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Licence and creator recorded per file.
- [English Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/), CC BY-SA 4.0, live API 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia.

Cite as: Common starfish (Asterias rubens). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-starfish