Flat-bottomed star
Asterias amurensis Lutken, 1871
Status not recordedechinoderms
The flat-bottomed star (Asterias amurensis) is an echinoderm in the family Asteriidae, order Forcipulatida and class Asteroidea. It is also called the Purple-orange star, North Pacific starfish, Japanese common sea star, Northern Pacific seastar and Japanese common starfish.
Quick facts about the flat-bottomed star
The species was named by Lutken, 1871, and the Catalogue of Life lists it as living, not extinct.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- marinesrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the flat-bottomed star
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the flat-bottomed star live?
Not recorded
What is the flat-bottomed star?
Asterias amurensis, also known as the Northern Pacific seastar and Japanese common starfish, is a seastar found in shallow seas and estuaries, native to the coasts of northern China, Korea, far eastern Russia, Japan, Alaska, the Aleutian Islands and British Columbia in Canada. Two forms are recognised: the nominate and forma robusta from the Strait of Tartary. It mostly preys on large bivalve molluscs, and it is mostly preyed on by other species of starfish. Population booms in Japan can affect the harvest of mariculture operations and are costly to combat.
This species has been introduced to oceanic areas of southern Australia, and is an invasive species there causing damage to native species, especially in Tasmania.
From the Wikipedia article “Asterias amurensis” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Asterias_amurensis&oldid=1379788775), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the flat-bottomed star endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the flat-bottomed star classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumEchinodermata
- classAsteroidea
- orderForcipulatida
- familyAsteriidae
- genusAsterias
- SpeciesAsterias amurensis Lutken, 1871
Synonyms Allasterias migrata, Allasterias rathbuni var. nortonensis, Asteracanthion rubens var. migratum, Asterias acervispinis, Asterias amurensis f. acervispinis, Asterias amurensis f. flabellifera, Asterias amurensis f. gracilispinis, Asterias amurensis f. latissima, Asterias flabellifera, Asterias gracilispinis, Asterias latissima, Asterias pectinata, Asterias rubens var. migratum, Parasterias albertensis
Other names and names in other languages (19)
- Japanese common sea starEnglish
- Japanese common starfishEnglish
- North Pacific starfishEnglish
- Northern Pacific sea starEnglish
- Northern Pacific seastarEnglish
- Purple-orange starEnglish
- Estrella de mar japonesaSpanish
- Stella arancio violaItalian
- Stella comune giapponeseItalian
- Stella del Pacifico settentrionaleItalian
- マヒトデJapanese
- キヒトデJapanese
- 아무르불가사리Korean
- 아므르불가사리Korean
- Kamtsjatka-zeesterDutch
- Estrela-do-mar-japonesaPortuguese
- Амурская морская звездаRussian
- Амурская обыкновенная морская звездаRussian
- strimsjöstjärnaSwedish
Relatives of the flat-bottomed star
Other species in the same genus Asterias.
CompareFlat-bottomed star vs Common starfishFlat-bottomed star vs Forbes sea starFlat-bottomed star vs Asterias argonautaFlat-bottomed star vs Asterias bootes
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the flat-bottomed star?
The flat-bottomed star is an echinoderm in the phylum Echinodermata and class Asteroidea.
What is the scientific name of the flat-bottomed star?
Its scientific name is Asterias amurensis, in the genus Asterias and family Asteriidae.
Who named Asterias amurensis and when?
Asterias amurensis was named by Lutken, 1871.
What other names does the flat-bottomed star have?
It is also called the Purple-orange star, North Pacific starfish, Japanese common sea star, Northern Pacific seastar and Japanese common starfish.
Is the flat-bottomed star extinct?
No, the Catalogue of Life lists the flat-bottomed star as living, not extinct.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Flat-bottomed star (Asterias amurensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/flat-bottomed-star
“Flat-bottomed star (Asterias amurensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/flat-bottomed-star.
@misc{flat_bottomed_star_2026,
title = {Flat-bottomed star (Asterias amurensis)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/flat-bottomed-star},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}