CRITTERCONFIDENTIAL
Common starfish digging down for buried prey
7 . Common starfish – Asterias rubens
An echinoderm had to feature somewhere and this species got the nod . It might not have the speed of a seven-armed starfish , the impressive appearance of a sunstar or the colour of a bloody Henry but it ’ s wonderfully versatile . You can see them in huge numbers feasting on the mussels that adorn pier legs , clambering up on kelp to spawn or excavating in the muddy depths of a sea loch to prey on buried clams .
6 . Spiny ( or common ) spider crab – Maja brachydactyla
How can this large and abundant animal have such an air of mystery ? There seems to be a lot of uncertainty over when they mate , their movements and the exact role of the huge moulting aggregations that they form in the summer . Why are both females and males sometimes so timid and yet sometimes so feisty ? They show amazing dexterity in ‘ decorating ’ their armour with seaweed for camouflage , but what predators are the biggest crabs hiding from ?
Newly moulted male with large claws , among a mass of spider crabs
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