The starfish in the cartoon titled "Spongebob Square Pants"
I Like that cartoon 'n I think I wanna know more about the starfish.
Hhehe
That's why I make this article...
- Starfish or sea stars are echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. The names "starfish" and "sea star" essentially refer to members of the class Asteroidea.
- Some sea stars can look like things like the daisy brittle star they look like daisies.
- Although sea stars live underwater and are commonly called "starfish," they are not fish. They do not have gills, scales, or fins like fish do and they move quite differently from fish. While fish propel themselves with their tails, sea stars have tiny tube feet to help them move along (see more on that below).
- The starfish can live all over the world. If you are looking for a starfish they are usually in rocky places. Also sea stars can swim all the down to the bottom of the sea or they can relaxed and float on top. The Ochre sea star can live any where from Alaska to California. The Ochre sea star can also clime up to the top of the wall and stay there for more then 5 hours. Most sea stars are in small groups or alone. There is a sea star called Crown-of-Thorns and they live coral reefs.
- While the five-armed varieties of sea star are the most well known, not all sea stars have 5 arms. Some have many more. Take the sun star for instance, which has up to 40 arms!
- Amazingly, sea stars can regenerate lost arms. This is useful if the sea star is threatened by a predator - it can drop an arm and get away. Sea stars house most of their vital organs in their arms, so some can even regenerate an entirely new sea star from just one arm and a portion of the star's central disc. It won't happen too quickly, though. It takes about a year for an arm to grow back.
- See stars don't have blood ! Instead of blood, sea stars have a water vascular system, in which the sea star pumps sea water through its sieve plate, or madreporite, into its tube feet to extend them. Muscles within the tube feet retract them.
- Sea stars move using hundreds of tube feet, which are located on their underside. The tube feet are filled with sea water, which the sea star brings in through the sieve plate, or madreporite, on its top side. Sea stars can move more quickly than you might expect. If you ever get a chance, try visiting a tide pool or aquarium and take a moment to watch a sea star moving around. The sea star's tube feet also help the sea star hold its prey, which includes bivalves like clams and mussels.
- there are over 1,800 species; with many species awaiting discovery. Some of the better known sea stars would include:
*Blue sea star
*Carpet sea star
*Comb sea star
*Common starfish
*Crown-of-thorns sea star
*Eleven-armed sea star
*Japanese sea star
*Ochre sea star
*Pincushion sea star
*Pink sea star
*Horned sea star
The Northern Pacific sea star (Asterias amurensis) known as gohongaze is considered an edible delicacy.
