The common sunstar (Crossaster papposus) is a species of sea star (aka starfish) belonging to the family Solasteridae.

[1] It is found in the northern parts of both the Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans.

The common sunstar is distributed from the Arctic down to the English Channel, in the North Sea, also on both East (from the Arctic to the Gulf of Maine) and Pacific coasts (from Alaska to Puget Sound) of North America.

The common sunstar is commonly found on rocky bottoms, coarse sand and gravel in the bathyal, infralittoral and circalittoral zone (from low-tide line up to depths of 300 m).

This central disc has a netlike pattern of raised ridges.