Sea Stars - Enchanted Learning Software

Sea Stars - Enchanted Learning Software

Sea stars (also known as starfish) are spiny, hard-skinned animals that live on the rocky sea floor. These invertebrates are NOT fish; they are echinoderms. Sea stars move very slowly along the sea bed, using hundreds of tiny tube feet. There are over 2,000 different species of sea stars worldwide.

Reproduction: Most species of starfish expel enormous numbers of eggs and sperm into the ocean; fertilization is external. After fertilization, the tiny, transparent, bilaterally-symmetrical larvae (baby sea stars) travel many miles as they are swept along by ocean currents for about two months. As they develop, the tiny larvae swim in the sea, eat phytoplankton, and are a component of zooplankton.

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