Common Starfish

The common starfish, also known as the common sea star, is one of the most familiar starfish species found in the coastal waters of the northeastern Atlantic Ocean, typically living on rocky and sandy seabeds where it preys mainly on mussels, clams and other bivalve mollusks. It has the classic five-armed body plan associated with starfish, covered in short spines, and it moves slowly across the seafloor using hundreds of tiny tube feet powered by an internal water vascular system unique to echinoderms. To feed on hard-shelled prey, the common starfish wraps its arms around a mussel or clam and applies steady pulling force with its tube feet until the shell gapes open even slightly, at which point it extrudes part of its own stomach through its mouth and directly into the shell to digest the prey's soft tissue externally before withdrawing. Like many starfish, the species has remarkable regenerative abilities, able to regrow a lost arm over time, and in some cases a single detached arm containing enough of the central body can regenerate into an entirely new individual.