Put your 16-24 arms in the air and wave 'em like you just don't care!
💜 A male and female sunflower star were encouraged to spawn as a team of hopeful aquarists stood at the ready.
They collected eggs and sperm, mixing them together to fertilize the eggs. The resulting embryos were dubbed the “Cupid Cohort”. Since then, it’s been a total lovefest. Institutions around California have raised these leggy heartthrobs from delicate star babies into the robust, glowing adults they are today.
🌊⭐ In October 2025, some of these juveniles took a short vacation to the open water of the Pacific. This successful collaborative study showed us they have what it takes to thrive in the wild, and helped us test out new methods to detect and monitor the presence of sunflower stars in the ocean, bringing us one step closer to a sea full of stars!
Learn more about sunflower sea stars and their conservation: https://www.montereybayaquarium.org/animals/animals-a-to-z/sunflower-star?utm_source=tumblr&utm_medium=organic_post&utm_campaign=mba_general_social&utm_term=&utm_content=_589
Thank you to Ashley Kidd, the Sunflower Star Lab, and the Birch Aquarium for this heartwarming footage.