Kingdom: Animalia
 Phylum: Echinodermata
  Class: Stelleroidea
   Subclass: Asteroidea
    Order: Forcipulatida
     Suborder: Asteriadina
      Family: Asteriidae
       Genus: Pycnopodia
        Species: helianthoides

Name Derivation: "helianthoides" = from the Greekwords "helianthes"(sunflower) and "eides"(-like).
Historical Note: Originally described as Asterias helianthoides (Brandt), but changed to Pycnopodia helianthoides (Stimpson) in 1862.