![]() ![]() It is found at the beach in shallow water and in depths of up to 130 feet along the coasts of Florida, and as far south as Brazil. Like other echinoderms, it has the ability to regenerate lost or broken appendages. Undigested food fragments are expelled through the mouth. The underside of the sea star has small white spiny plates and a central band of translucent, orange tube feet. The topside is a patchwork of closely packed spiny plates from brownish gray to tan. ![]() ![]() This sea star grows between twelve to sixteen inches in diameter. The Nine-armed Sea Star (Luidia senegalensis), is a millipede with long, slim tapering arms attached to a small circular center. While predators themselves, most are covered with spiny skin for protection from other predators. An internal hydraulic-type system pumps fluids through the body, allowing the star to both move and feed. Sea stars have an eye at the end of each tentacle, but cannot see color. Sea stars have tentacle-like structures called tube feet with suction pads situated along the extremities. About two thousand species exist exclusively in oceans worldwide. Sea stars are Echinoderms (Echinodermata) -a group of animals whose name means “spiny skin,” which includes sea urchins, feather stars, sand dollars and sea cucumbers. Once called a starfish, although it is not a fish ![]()
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