Species group · Starfish

Starfish

WAnimals has 7 species of starfish, spread across 5 families (Acanthasteridae, Asteriidae, Astropectinidae, Echinasteridae, Oreasteridae).

7 species

5 families

112 countries

92 parks

All 7 species of starfish on WAnimals

Each one has its own full profile. This group does not replace them: it brings them together.

6 Not Evaluated1 Critically Endangered

1 species in this group is in a threatened category according to the IUCN.

Recorded in 112 countries. The ones with the most species in the group:

It can regrow lost arms completely, and an arm with part of the central disc attached can regenerate a whole animal.
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It digests its prey by pushing its stomach out of its own body.
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It feeds mainly on mussels and other bivalve molluscs.
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It feeds on coral polyps and, without natural predators, its numbers can explode and badly damage entire reefs.
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It can carry dozens of arms, far more than the five most starfish have, and its spines hold a toxin that irritates human skin.
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A single adult can consume several square metres of living coral a year, and in population outbreaks there are tens of thousands on one reef.
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It can have 24 arms and move at 1 m a minute; an epidemic has devastated it since 2013.
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It is one of the largest sea stars in the world: it reaches a metre from tip to tip, with between 16 and 24 arms and some 15,000 tube feet. And it is among the fastest: it covers up to 60 metres an hour.