Starfish Facts and Information

Their unique physical appearance sets these sea dwelling creatures apart from the other inhabitants of the oceans. Of the over 2,000 species, the most widely recognized species is the five arm starfish. Marine biologists are trying hard to get people to call this creature a sea star instead of a starfish. The main reason for this is that it's not a fish it's an echinoderm belonging to the class Asteroidea. These creatures can be found in tropical oceans and also on the cold sea floor. They can be found in varied sizes ranging from half an inch to over three feet, and can be found in vibrant colors.

Interesting Starfish Facts

• It is a carnivore and mostly eats clamps and seashells in a unique style. The starfish gets its stomach out of its mouth and throws it over the prey and sucks the stomach back in through its mouth, thereby allowing it to eat larger prey.
• They have tube feet which they use for locomotion effectively. These feet attach to a surface and then move in a wave like manner with one after the other tubes getting attached to the surface.
• The starfish not only uses its feet for locomotion but also uses these tube like attachments to rip open the shells of their prey. These suction cupped feet are very effective in prying open oysters and clams.
• One of the most weird facts about starfish is that they reproduce without having sex. The male and female starfish release their gametes in the water and the male gametes join the female gametes and these fertilized embryos then grow up to become adult starfish.
• A starfish can regenerate its arms if they lose it to an accident or predator. They also use this mechanism to escape predators, as they can willingly release their arm. It takes more than a year for the starfish to regenerate its arm as it has many vital organs on it.
• It is a very slow creature and can't move around fast, so it has developed a body armor to protect itself from predators. It has small calcium carbonate plates with tiny spikes on its body which keep most predators at bay.
• One of the fun facts about starfish is that they don't have a brain, meaning they don't have a central nervous system. They have nerves along the body and the branches of these nerves control the movement of these creatures.
• The starfish have eyes on their arms and these allow them to see in the light as well as dark. However, the vision of the starfish is not that great considering it has so many eyes.
• Another weird fact about starfish is that it does not have blood, instead it uses sea water for its vascular system. It controls the movement of its tiny feet by pumping water in and out of its system.
• The anatomy of the starfish is also quite unique, it has a mouth on its underside. It can also voluntarily take its stomach out of its mouth to swallow its prey.

Starfish are mostly found on the sea bed and are closely related to sea urchins. Another interesting fact about starfish is that it has two stomachs, one it uses to catch the prey while the other is used to digest food. Researchers are trying hard to get people to understand that this amazing creature is not a fish but is an echinoderm and hence should be known as 'sea star'.