The sunflower sea star, Pycnopodia helianthoides, is one of the largest sea stars in the ocean, and may be the fastest. P. helianthoides can grow up to 1m in length, and travel as fast as 3m per minute. It is usually orange or purple, but may be pink, yellow, or brown. P. helianthoides is an active predator and feeds upon a large variety of organisms including urchins, sand dollars, bivalves, sea cucumbers and other sea stars. It will also scavenge upon dead animals. P. helianthoides causes many animals to show a dramatic escape response.
