Sea stars are creatures with more than 1,600 different species. They live throughout the world’s oceans, from the tropics to the cold polar regions. They also come in countless beautiful different shapes, sizes, and colors. But few people expect that starfish – these beautiful creatures on the ocean floor are extremely greedy carnivores.
The chocolate chip starfish is so named because it has chocolate chip seeds on its body. These seeds act as weapons for starfish to scare away other predators such as shrimp, fish, etc.
Ocean blood stars have a characteristic orange color and live along the Pacific coast of North America. This species of starfish is threatened by sea urchins or even humans.
Bat starfish can have up to 9 wings and come in a variety of colors. Popular colors are red, green, purple.
Skin stars live in waters as deep as 300 feet, eating everything from sponge algae to sea cucumbers. Their biggest enemy is sunlight.
The sun starfish is a fierce star. It has 8 – 16 brightly colored arms, usually red or orange. They possess toxic mucus to protect against enemies.
The sunflower star is the world’s largest sea star, reaching armspan of 3.3 feet. Their main food is sea urchins, oysters, and snails.
Pink stars can reach enormous sizes and can weigh up to 2 feet. Its soft texture allows it to cling to coral and rocks where it can live on the bodies of clams, tube worms and barnacles.
Sand stars are found in shallow water on coral reefs and rubble piles where there are abundant food sources such as algae, coral, and dead animals.
Royal stars are sea stars that are royal blue in color. Unlike many other species of starfish, they eat their own species.
Thorn stars possess sharp, venomous spines covering their surface. This is one of the largest and most voracious starfish in the world.
