Day 146 - Stupendous Starfish

Hi all today's Day 146 and a while ago I went to the beach with my Dad. We mainly went onto a little detached island by hopping over some stones to get there. It's a Northumberland Wildlife Trust reserve called Cresswell Forshore.  The tide had probably just gone out as there were lots of rock-pools there and we saw more than we had ever seen in a rock-pool before. Talking to a local man on the beach afterwards he said the tide was unusually low and it might have been to do with the solar eclipse and the moon being quite close to the earth. Lucky for us as it had left behind some brilliant rock pools and I saw at least 2 things that I hadn't seen before. One of these was the majestic starfish, well I say majestic, all it did was sit there but anyway, it was nice to see.

So I did my research and here are the facts:

Starfish (Asteroidea)

I think it is a common starfish (Asterias rubens)

• Starfish are not actually fish as they have no gills, scales or fins. They also move completely differently to fish. Some scientists are trying to get these animals commonly called Sea Stars so people aren't confused and think they are fish.

• They have hundreds of tiny tube feet and they move by walking. Their feet are filled with sea water which goes to their sieve plate.

• Their feet don't only help them to move, they also hold onto their prey. My feet can't do that, I hope :-).

• Doctor Who came to mind when I read this fact. Starfish can actually regenerate a lost arm... This, weirdly, also works vice-versa. Yes, a Starfish's arm can regenerate the rest of their body...

• This is because their arms actually house some of their most vital organs. I think this is their brain but I'm not sure.

• Staying on the subject of arms, some starfish have more than just 5 arms. Some, like the Sun Star, can have up to 40 arms!

• Starfish don't have any blood, instead they have a system of tubes filled with water which they use to move their bodies. The sieve plate I mentioned earlier makes sure the tubes don't get clogged by keeping out any particles in the water.

The way star fish eat means they can tackle prey
much larger than them - look out whelk!

• Starfish have to be able to see, right? Well, they can. They have an eye at the end of each arm, it must be confusing to have 40 eyes!

• Starfish also have an amazing way of eating. They eat shellfish and they must have strong arms as they will wrap them selves around their prey and can pull open things like mussels just enough to start eating.

• Once the shell is prised open they push their stomachs out of their mouths and into the shell where they digest it before they pull their stomachs back into their bodies! Impressive!

Amazing creatures! If you want to find out more here are some links to more information:

Fast facts about Starfish

10 facts about Starfish

BBC Nature - Starfish

Hope you enjoyed,

Z.