Sealife guideThe Starfish classThe taxonomy of marine species

Explore the taxonomy of marine echinoderms with a dedicated focus on starfish and sea urchins !

The class Asteroidea, commonly known as starfish, includes more than 1,600 known species. These marine animals can reach over one meter in span with their arms fully extended and typically have five arms or a multiple of five, with the number potentially varying due to regeneration after an arm is lost. Their skeleton is made up of adjacent but not fused calcareous plates.

Blue spiny starfish
(Coscinasterias tenuispina)

Purple sea star
(Pisaster ochraceus)

Spiny starfish
(Marthasterias glacialis)

Sunflower sea star
(Pycnopodia helianthoides)

Mosaic sea star
(Plectaster decanus)

Red starfish
(Echinaster sepositus)

Bat sea star
(Patiria miniata)

Biscuit sea star
(Peltaster placenta)

Necklace sea star
(Fromia monilis)

Noduled sea star
(Fromia nodosa)

Vermillion sea star
(Mediaster aequalis)

Heavy starfish
(Thromidia catalai)

Blue sea star
(Linckia laevigata)

Egyptian sea star
(Gomophia egyptiaca)

Smooth starfish
(Hacelia attenuata)

Chocolate chip sea star
(Nidorellia armata)

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