Recently renamed as sea stars, starfish are fascinating creatures. Their fossils date back to Ordovician period, roughly 450 million years ago. Millions of years ago many species became extinct and although they’re not known for their speed, starfish have the amazing ability to quickly diversify their species to suit their environment and the surviving species evolved rapidly and morphed into a new species of starfish.
Did you know that the reason starfish were renamed ‘sea stars’ is because they’re not fish? Unlike fish, which use their gills to breathe, starfish use seawater to transport oxygen around their bodies and ‘breathe’ through their feet.
If a starfish loses an arm, it will grow another one and in some cases entire bodies! Also, some starfish purposely shed their arms when they’re damaged or they need to escape predators.