Starfish Scientific Name

Starfish are echinoderms that belong to the class Asteroidea. They are also one of the oldest groups of animals, with fossils dating back to 450 million years. Most species of starfish have 5 arms, some such as the Labidiaster annulatus have over 40 arms. Starfish can also grow to extremely large sizes- the Sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides) is one of the largest starfishes in the world, reaching a maximum arm span of 3.3 ft. Though starfishes seem docile and very slow moving, they are voracious predators of corals, devastating coral reefs – especially the Crown-of-thorns Starfish.

Scientific Names of Starfish Species

• Crown-of-thorns Starfish – Acanthaster planci
• Sunflower sea star – Pycnopodia helianthoides
• Red comb star – Astropecten aranciacus
• Forbes sea star – Asterias forbesi

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