by Angelina Moore

Created on: July 28, 2008   Last Updated: July 29, 2008

Another name for a star fish is (sea star) this is because of the shape of their bodies, they literally look like little stars in the sea.

Starfish generally grown from 10 to 30cm. They have five arms which form the star shape giving them their name.

Habitat
These fish can be found in the Atlantic Ocean but have also been found in the Mediterranean Sea although they are not commonly found here.

Most people can spot Starfish in rock pools and on beaches. When I was younger I remember taking a trip to the beach with my school and I distinctly remember trying to see how many starfish we could find. They are generally found in shelly gravel and rock that can be from 400m offshore.

Diet
Starfish generally eat prey that is not able to attack back; they eat the prey that cannot get away. It is common for starfish to eat dead vegetation or prey because they are not able to escape from the starfishes' grasp easy. However the usual pray for a starfish are in general mussels, crustaceans, worms' oysters and other forms of shellfish.

Starfish are different from other fish. They have the ability to digest prey too big for them to swallow; they can push their stomachs out of their mouths which allow them to do this.

They are active carnivores and are known to scavenge around for their food. They prey on bivalve molluscs by forcing their shells their shells open with their tube feet; as they create a strong force.

Behaviour
Starfish move very slowly across the sea floor with their tiny tube feet; they cannot move quickly across the ocean.

The tube feet are adapted to the starfish's advantage as they produce a strong suction which fixes the starfish in place and makes it difficult for predators to eat the entire fish. It has been known for starfish to be spotted in the ocean with missing limbs as predators have not been able to eat the whole fish because of the tough grip of the fishes' tube feet. However this does not put the starfish at any disadvantage because their limbs grow back over time. Sometimes a starfish will have six or more limbs because the starfish will accidentally grow two more limbs to take the place of the missing one.

Reproduction
Reproduction will occur in the ocean away from the female and male. The female will release an egg into the ocean and the male will respond to this by releasing sperm into the sea; the process happens externally.

It is estimated that there is about 1,800 species of starfish in the Worlds Ocean; they are amazing creatures and their population is still flourishing.

References
http://www.bbc.co.uk/nature/wi ldfacts/factfiles/418.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/w iki/Starfish

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