By Obiabin Onukwugha
Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. There are about 1,900 species of starfish.
Starfish only live in salt water, which means they can only be found in the Ocean. Starfish are one of the most beautiful looking animals in the vast ocean.
They are opportunistic feeders and are mostly predators on benthic invertebrates. Several species have specialized feeding behaviours including eversion of their stomachs and suspension feeding.
Many species of starfish can reproduce asexually before the maturity stage. Scientifically, they are known as “Asteroidea.” Starfish undergo a process called “fission,” whereby they split into two to produce another starfish. The central disc of the starfish breaks into two during this process, and then the arm detaches to give birth to a new organism.
Interestingly, despite their name, star fish are not related to fish at all. They actually belong to the group of marine invertebrates which also include sea cucumber, sea urchin and sand dollar. Starfish don’t have a brain, or even blood. Rather, they use filtered sea water to pump nutrients through their nervous system.
The average lifespan of a Starfish is an impressive 35 years.
Starfish feeds on clams, shells and mussels and when they capture prey, they have tiny suction cups they use to grab hold of their food. When they eat, their stomachs exit their mouths to digest the food, and re-enters the body when they’ve finished eating.
Starfish are important to the marine ecosystem because they are keystone species that help maintain a balance of species and habitats. Star fish predators include; crabs, lobsters, seagulls, etc.
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Starfish reproduce sexually by spawning, where millions of eggs and sperm cells are released from the starfish gonads into the water. During spawning, starfish come together, forming spawning aggregations. Sexual reproduction like spawning is called psuedocopulation because the reproduction occurs without penetration.
The Star fish and the little girl
A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.
She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”
The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied,
“Well, I made a difference for that one!”
The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved.
The starfish story moral is that every individual can make a difference, even if that difference is only felt by one person.
Adapted from “The Star Thrower” by Loren C. Eiseley
