Starfish
are in a class called echinodermata (echinoderms). Starfish (group name Stelleroidea) are sometimes called sea stars or sea
fish though it is not areal fish (it isn't a vertebrate or have fins).
Starfish
cannot swim. They crawl and climb. Most starfish are less than eight inches across, but a few kinds can be as big as a small
car!
Starfish
breathe through their feet. They also have little breathing tubes all over their bodies.
The
mouth of the starfish is on their underside, in the middle. They eat shellfish. Using the suckers on their feet, they pull
open the shell of the shellfish. Then, they push their stomach inside the shell and slowly digest the fish.
Starfish are relatively strong and tough against
their enemies.
Their spiny skin is not very tasty to other sea creatures. Sometimes a fish will
bite off a starfish's arm, but the starfish can grow a new one! If a starfish has its center part and one arm, it can live.
The new arms grow back in a few months.
