![JeffriesPycnopodia](https://mlml.sjsu.edu/student-life/wp-content/uploads/sites/75/2011/01/38551_1371703342390_1525973548_30950075_7916123_n.jpg)
Don’t let the gentle name of the sunflower star fool you – these giant sea stars are voracious predators of the kelp forest. Wielding 24 arms and growing to sizes of over three feet across, Pycnopodia helianthoides is a fearsome force to be reckoned with for its prey of urchins, snails, clams – even other sea stars. When you have that many arms, you don’t have to play nice.