🪐 View in 3D Galaxy 📏 View on 3D Scale Stage

🧬 Biological Classification (Kingdom to Species)Linckia laevigata

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Echinodermata

Class

Asteroidea

Order

Valvatida

Family

Ophidiasteridae

Genus

Linckia

Species

Linckia laevigata

Asteroidea🌊 Marine predator / filter feeder

Blue sea star

Linckia laevigata (Blue sea star · アオヒトデ)

🛡️ Conservation Status (IUCN Red List)NE (Not Evaluated)

Not Evaluated (NE) on the IUCN Red List yet.

Geological Era

Extant

Diet

Marine predator / filter feeder

Length · Height

30~40cm · No data

Mass · Top Speed

11~16g · No data

Habitat & Fossil Locality

Sunlit shallow areas of tropical Indo-Pacific coral reefs (depths of 0–60 m), on rocks, dead coral, and rubble

💡 Everyday Comparisons for Size, Mass & Speed

💡 Its arm span diameter of 40 cm is longer than the long side of an A4 sheet of paper (29.7 cm) (Comparison).
💡 Its body weight of 16 g is about the weight of two Korean 500-won coins (7.7 g each) (Comparison).
💡 It is dried for decoration or kept in aquariums and is popular with tourists. Researchers are also testing whether anticancer and antibacterial substances can be obtained from it (ADW positive impacts for humans).

Reference standards: coach bus ~12 m, mid-size car ~4.9 m, compact car ~1 t, basketball hoop 3.05 m, credit card 8.56 cm.

📊 Mass & Speed Index (0–100)

⚖️ Mass Index (Blue Whale ~190 t = 100, log scale)13

Site-computed relative index from recorded values; not a formal scientific metric.

#푸른불가사리#Linckia laevigata

📖 1. Overview

The blue sea star is a blue starfish living on tropical coral reefs of the Indo-West Pacific. In Korea, it lives in rocky reef areas south of Jeju Island.

🦴 2. Anatomy & Morphology

It has 5 long cylindrical arms, a bright blue or sky-blue body, and yellow tube feet. Its blue color comes from a pigment called linckiacyanin, and it looks vivid blue under sunlight.

🔍 3. Ecology & Behavior

It is active at night and hides in rock crevices during the day. It eats dead animals, small invertebrates, and bottom detritus, everting its stomach outside its body to digest food. In summer (May–August), it reproduces by releasing eggs and sperm into the water.

🇰🇷 4. Connection to Korea

It is listed on the National List of Species of Korea and is distributed in rocky reef areas of southern Jeju Island under the influence of the Kuroshio Current.