The starfish is also known as the sea star. Starfish, in general, are rather stiff-bodied animals that crawl slowly along the ocean floor. Their mouth is right beneath them. They have arms that radiate all around them, with many rows of tube feet used for crawling, attachment, and eating on each arm. Their arm length, as well as the number of arms, varies. Their skin is rough and leathery, and they usually have spines or spikes. So let’s have a look at these amazing 22 facts about starfish that will astonish you.
- The starfish is the only animal that can turn its stomach inside out.
- The fossil record for starfish is ancient, dating back to the Ordovician the period which is around 450 million years ago.
- A starfish can reproduce to a whole body with just a single lost arm.
- Starfishes are heterosexual, which means they can opt for both sexes at the same time.
- They fall under the species of invertebrates, which means they don’t have a spinal cord.
- Starfish have no visible parts of the body which look like eyes. A starfish has eyespots that can not see details but which can sense light and darkness. These eye-points are at the tip of each arm of the starfish.
- A starfish is not a fish in real.
- Starfishes don’t have any brains. Instead, they have special cells on their skin that gather information about their surroundings.
- An adult starfish is very much capable of releasing 2 million eggs at one time, but on average, it releases about 1 million eggs.
- The lifespan of a starfish 5 to 35 years.
- A starfish feeds itself by first extending its stomach out of its mouth and over the digestible parts of its prey, such as mussels and clams.
- There is a starfish with about 40 arms.
- Starfishes doesn’t have any blood. They have blood which is actually the seawater.
- There are about 2000 known species of starfishes in the world.
- Starfish expel their stomachs to eat. A starfish eats its food outside of its body and then brings it inside.
- The largest starfish, the sunflower star, it is about 40 inches in length and is also among the heaviest, weighing about 11 pounds(5 kg).
- Starfishes have sexual organs, or gonads, in each arm. Starfish reproduce sexually by releasing sex cells in the water.
- Starfishes have a gestation period of four to eight weeks.
- Starfishes can not survive in freshwater due to salinity.
- Starfish are not considered very social. But some species are do found in the groups.
- Starfish is opposite to many invertebrates as their anus is located on the upper side, and mouth is located at the bottom.
- A 5 armed starfish has about five eyespots. While a 40 armed starfish has 40 eyespots. They have many eyes, but they can not see as much we or any other animal species can see.
