Don’t let that unassuming lumpy appearance fool you – like a pesky little brother, this cushion star (Pteraster tesselatus) is loaded with snot and can fire at will.   Any good scientist knows that mucous makes the world go round, and makes for a pretty effective defense.  If you mess with this critter, expect things to get messy…

This star was collected during a government fish trawl survey near southern California.  Here’s a shot of the underside in case you need convincing that there is indeed a graceful sea star under all that slime.