15 Arm Sunflower Starfish

~*~*~*~*~*OPEN FOR FACTS*~*~*~*~*~*~

Palmers Point, California
June 17, 2011 (NOT July, sorry!)

This starfish is called a Sunflower Starfish (Pycnopodia helianthoides) and usually has 16-24 limbs. This one has 15 because one is missing. Sunflower starfish are the largest starfish in the world, and they can shed a limb or two if they are stressed by another larger predator. However, as mentioned later, the starfish can regenerate its lost limb in a few weeks. Sunflower starfish start with five arms and by full maturity can grow up to 24.

Quick facts about starfish:

1) Starfish are included in a group of animals called Echinoderms (echino=spiny, derm=skin). Other echinoderms are sea cucumbers, corals, sea urchins, sand dollars, brittle stars, and feather stars. Echinoderms like this starfish have great powers of regeneration, and they can regenerate parts very quickly, like tube feet, internal organs, or even whole arms as it seems this 15 armed starfish has done.

2) Echinoderms have a water vascular system, which allows them to use water canals for motion, feeding, and breathing; the water canals extend out of the skin into tube feet, which are the suctioning pieces on the underside of the starfish. (tube feet can be seen in this video!)

3) Starfish (aka sea stars) externally digest their food by extending their stomach outside their body and digesting there, then moving their stomach back in.

4) Starfish are in Kindom Animalia, Phylum Echinodermata, class Asteroidea.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• starfish
• sea star
• echinoderm
• tube feet
• water vascular system
• tidepooling
• palmers point
• 15 rays
• arms
• legs
• tidepool
• sunflower starfish

[poisonedxheartx]

Well that's pretty cool

[09elementdarkstar90]

You sound so enthusiastic