Everything You Need To Know About Starfish

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Starfish

Everything You Need To Know About Starfish

 

A starfish is a fascinating creature that can be found in many places, including your local aquarium. They’re grazers and are classified as echinoderms, meaning they have no blood or brain. They have hundreds of feet at the end of their arms.

In fact, there are several kinds of starfish, but here are some of the most common types. Continue reading to learn about starfish and their amazing characteristics!


Starfish Are Echinoderms

Echinoderms are a group of invertebrates that lack a backbone. Their name is derived from the Greek word echinos, which means “spiny skin.”

Many echinoderms have a distinctive body structure that includes five radial nerves that radiate from the center of the disc, or echinosome.

Other echinoderms have a more complex pentaradial symmetry, in which the body is divided into five equal-sized slices around a central disk.

Echinoderms also share a common reproductive system. Though starfish are echinoderms, they are not true fish. They have an extensive nervous system, which consists of a nerve plexus and numerous interlacing nerves.

Their nervous system is equipped with sensory inputs, including touch, light, temperature, orientation, and the condition of the water around them.

Starfish also have a hydraulic vascular system that has multiple projections that emerge from the endoskeleton. The power of regeneration is one of the most fascinating properties of starfish.

Some species regenerate entire bodies from a fragment of their body. Some species are capable of growing new arms, or even arm fragments.

While this process is normally a protective function, autotomy also serves as a form of asexual reproduction. Starfish include the Allostichaster polyplex and Coscinasterias calamaria.


They Have No Brain Or Blood

It’s no secret that sea stars don’t have a brain or blood, and use water to deliver key nutrients to their organs.

Because seawater is abundant, starfish don’t need a complicated blood system. They have upper skin made of calcium carbonate, which makes them tough.

They have five arms, and some even have spines! But why do they have no blood or brain? Find out below. Even though starfish have no brain or blood, they have interesting organs that make them unique.

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These organs allow them to move a great distance, and a Sunflower starfish can cover one meter in one minute! Starfish can also sneeze.

The reason isn’t obvious, but it’s interesting nonetheless. In fact, there are many interesting facts about starfish, and the enigma of their brainless existence is one of them.

Their tiny eyes are half a millimeter wide. Their ability to respond to light is an indication of their neural system. Starfish’s nutritional needs vary wildly depending on their species.

While some species feed on mollusks, others consume clams and other meaty food. Even one sea star can eat 50 tiny clams per week. But there are many myths about starfish and what they can and cannot do.


They Have Hundreds Of Feet At The End Of Each Arm

Many animals have a central brain, but starfish do not. Their decision-making is primarily done through individual feet.

These tube feet use a variety of senses to navigate their environment. The long, delicate feet on the tips of their arms are particularly sensitive.

In addition to their specialized senses, starfish can also move faster than you might think. Hence, starfish have hundreds of feet on each arm.

Usually, starfish have five arms, though some species have dozens of arms. Their aboral surface may be smooth, granular, spiny, or covered with overlapping plates.

Many species are colorful, from deep-sea specimens in orange to bright blue specimens with pale tubercles. Their tube feet function as a hydraulic system.

Each arm has two grooves for fluid to flow through. The pressure from the fluid in the canal allows the starfish to extend its arms.

Like other echinoderms, starfish have hundreds of feet at the end of their arms. They use these feet to channel water through tiny canals in their bodies.

They can even move their tube feet by changing the pressure of the water. This means that starfish can walk on the surface of the sea.

They can even travel a mile in a week! A common starfish species is the Forbes’ asterias.


They Are Grazers

These small creatures have tube feet, suction cups, and points, which they use to capture their prey. They can live in both the abyss and the intertidal zone.

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Starfish graze on a variety of food sources, including algae, worms, and corals. Crown-of-thorns starfish, for example, eat coral colonies. Some starfish even move their stomach out of their bodies to digest their prey. They may live up to 35 years.

Most starfish species are carnivores, eating invertebrates such as sponges, bryozoans, and mollusks. However, some species are specialized feeders, eating life coral polyps.

Unlike their predatory cousins, starfish do not have hard mouth parts to grasp their prey.  They extend their stomachs over their prey, digesting it in the water before drawing it back into their bodies.

Starfish are grazers, meaning they live on a variety of organic materials and algae. While their primary diet consists of algae, organic detritus, and algae, starfish can also eat coral polyps.

While starfish are grazers, they may be insatiable carnivores and are not appropriate for aquariums with live creatures.

So, if you want to have one of these creatures in your home, be sure to research the species first. You may accidentally hurt a starfish by not understanding its needs.

A starfish’s vascular system helps them graze on different kinds of organisms, including plants, algae, and worms. They also have two stomachs, a cardiac and a pyloric, which both extend out from the mouth.

If you think about the way starfish eat, you will understand why they are so important to our oceans. They contribute to the ecosystem and community structure of the ocean floor.


They Have A Spiky Shell

Starfish are marine invertebrates. Commonly, starfish have five arms and a central disc. They can regenerate lost arms to escape a predator.

Their spiky shell provides protection to the tube feet, nerves, and other parts of their body. The shell is made of calcium carbonate plates. Starfish have varying colors and patterns. Their spines protect their gills, which are found near the feet.

Starfish and urchins have spiny shells. Spiny structures are part of their skin and act as gills, which help them absorb oxygen from the water.

Because these animals live in water, they require oxygen to survive, making the spiky shell an important feature of their bodies.

Echinoderms have a wide variety of body structures, including the spiky shell. Some starfish have spiky shells, while others have webbed arms.

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Starfish with spiky shells are called spiny sea stars. Spiny sea stars have clusters of spines along the body, as opposed to pedicellariae.

Gibbous starlets are common in stony-bottomed European waters. Sun stars, which have a disc with a wide disk and 15 rays, are commonly found in the northern waters.

A sea star, also known as a sand dollar, belongs to the phylum Echinoderms, and contains more than 2,000 species worldwide.

While most species have only five arms, some have up to 40. In addition to their spiky shells, they can display bright colors and be as large as four feet across.

If you want to learn more about these creatures, try our starfish worksheet pack.


They Have Two Stomachs

Did you know that starfish have two stomachs? Their two stomachs are paired in the center and help them break down their prey.

When they eat whole prey, the cardiac stomach begins the process of digestion. Later, the food from this first stomach is transferred to the pyloric stomach.

This process occurs every few minutes. If you’ve ever wondered how starfish are able to eat so much food in one day, keep reading to learn more.

Sea stars have two stomachs and four or seven arms. Most species have five arms, but some species have up to 24. While the long arms come from the parent starfish, the rest are acquired through normal regeneration.

Although starfish have two stomachs, they can regenerate them like lizards can regenerate their tails and arms. The two stomachs, paired with a single arm, give starfish the ability to survive in the cold waters of the ocean.

In the wild, starfish can only move around in the water. They need water with a pH of 8.1 or higher to survive. They feed on algae, detritus, and sponges.

While in the aquarium, they are not able to reproduce sexually, but they can mate. If you want to keep starfish, make sure you have the correct seawater tank to feed them.

Make sure to check the salinity and pH levels before adding them to your tank.


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