sea star

echinoderm
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Also known as: Asteroidea, starfish
Also called:
starfish

sea star, any marine invertebrate of the class Asteroidea (phylum Echinodermata) having rays, or arms, surrounding an indistinct central disk. Despite their older common name, they are not fishes. The roughly 1,600 living species of sea stars occur in all oceans; the northern Pacific has the greatest variety. Most species are 20 to 30 cm (8 to 12 inches) across; some are only 1 cm (0.4 inch), and others are as much as 65 cm (25 inches) across. Sea star arms—typically five in number—are hollow and, like the disk, covered with short spines and pedicellariae (pincerlike organs); on the lower ...(100 of 795 words)