---
title: "South American Multiradiate Sun Star"
description: "Heliaster helianthus — Other animals. Heliaster helianthus, the sun star, is a species of Asteroidea (starfish) in the family Heliasteridae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/south-american-multiradiate-sun-star
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# South American Multiradiate Sun Star

> Heliaster helianthus — Other animals. Heliaster helianthus, the sun star, is a species of Asteroidea (starfish) in the family Heliasteridae.

- Scientific name: *Heliaster helianthus*
- Category: `other` (Other animals)
- Habitats: `sea` (Sea & coast)
- iNaturalist observations: 1061
- Wikidata: [Q3274366](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q3274366)
- iNaturalist taxon: [255868](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/255868)

## Names

- en: South American Multiradiate Sun Star
- es: Sol de mar

## Countries with the most observations

CL (851), PE (159)

## Summary

Heliaster helianthus, the sun star, is a species of Asteroidea (starfish) in the family Heliasteridae. It is found in shallow water rocky habitats and in the kelp forests off the Pacific coast of Ecuador, Peru and Chile.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliaster_helianthus

## Photo

![South American Multiradiate Sun Star](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/south-american-multiradiate-sun-star/medium.jpg)

Photo: Allan Harris · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/200626004

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/south-american-multiradiate-sun-star?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).