Interesting Facts About Starfish

There are many interesting and unknown facts about starfish. These creatures are known around the world for their beauty and unique shape, and starfish are also known as sea stars. This article will provide you with tons of starfish facts.

Starfish may have the word fish in their name, but they are not actually fish. They do not have gills or scales, and sea stars move using their tiny tube feet instead of fins like fish.

An uncommonly known fact about starfish is that they do not all have five arms. They five pointed sea star is the most popular and widely recognized, but starfish can have up to 40 arms.

One of the most amazing facts about these sea creatures is that the can regenerate a lost limb. Starfish can even regenerate completely from one arm and a small section of the sea star's central disc. This means that a single star can be chopped up symmetrically in five pieces and five new starfish will grow from the five single limbs.

Starfish are known as Phylum Echinodermata because they are related to sand dollars and sea urchins. Echinoderms are symmetrical by five points (Kennedy).

Sea stars pump water through their bodies instead of blood. Therefore these star-shaped creatures have no blood at all.

Starfish also have no brains and hundreds of tiny tubes on their undersides. The tiny tubes help starfish move quickly across surfaces by pumping water through the holes in the tubes.

There are around 2,000 species of starfish and they all live in different areas including tropical areas, deep water, and cold water (Starfish fun facts).

Starfish may not have eyes, but they have a unique sense of sight. On the tip of their arms, sea stars have tiny organs that are light-sensitive; this helps the fish sense light and shapes surrounding them.

Another interesting fact about starfish is that they can change their gender whenever they like. Female starfish can produce about 1 million eggs at a single time. The fertilized eggs live in a larvae stage for about three weeks (Kennedy).

Starfish are also unique because they have two stomachs. One stomach begins digestions as the other expands around the item and engulfs it. The second stomach on some starfish even leaves the body to envelop its prey; then it withdraws back into the body. Sea stars enjoy a diet of oysters and clams.

There are no starfish that live in freshwater despite the man y species that exist and very few types of sea stars live in brackish water.

The outer skin of a starfish is calcified; this bony layer protects the stars from becoming prey. Survival, camouflage, and defense are also a reason for the bright patterns of this marine animal.

Starfish are famous for many reasons, but there are lots of interesting facts about this marine creature that most people are not aware of. These details about starfish help you to understand how truly incredible and unique a starfish actually is.

Reference:

Kennedy, J. (n.d.). 10 Facts About Starfish - Starfish Facts.Marine Life - Ocean Animals, Plants and Habitats. Retrieved July 19, 2011, from http://marinelife.about.com/od

Starfish Fun Facts. (n.d.).bestfunfacts. Retrieved July 19, 2011, from http://bestfunfacts.com/starfish.html