Have you ever witnessed a creature that spits out its stomach to consume food? Do you know where the eyes of a starfish are located?

Starfish are strange and stunning creatures that dwell in the ocean. They come in a variety of colors and resemble stars from an animated movie. This fascinating sea creature belongs to the echinoderm family, which moves through tubular legs, regenerates after losing its arms, and is capable of swallowing food larger than its size.

Although they live underwater, starfish are not true fish, as they lack gills, scales, or fins like fish do. Starfish also move differently from fish. While fish use their tails to propel themselves forward, starfish have tiny tube-like feet to help them move forward.

Starfish belong to the phylum Echinodermata, which includes animals such as sea urchins and sea cucumbers. Some starfish live along the coastline, while others can only be found in deep-sea environments. They come in various shapes, sizes, and colors. Usually, starfish have five arms, but there are species with up to forty arms.

Here are some peculiar and beautiful starfish that you may have never seen before!

1. Dermasterias Imbricata

Dermasterias imbricata is found off the west coast of North America, from Alaska to Mexico. It lives in the intertidal zone at a depth of 91 meters and feeds on algae, sponges, and sea cucumbers.

2. Morning sun star (Solaster Dawsoni)

The morning sun star has 8 to 16 arms and is usually red or orange, resembling the sun from a cartoon drawing. Morning sun star lives in the North Pacific Ocean and can be found in Japan, Siberia, and off the coast of North America. They prey on other starfish and will even feign death in front of predators.

3. Pisaster Brevispinus

Pisaster Brevispinus can grow up to 0.6 meters in diameter and weigh up to 0.9 kg. Its body color is bubblegum pink, just like Patrick from the cartoon "SpongeBob SquarePants." Its soft body can easily cling to corals and rocks where it consumes mussels, tube worms, and barnacles.

4. Choriaster Granulatus

Choriaster granulatus is the only species in the genus Choriaster. This unique starfish is found in coral reefs and shallow debris-filled slopes, feeding on algae, coral polyps, and animal carcasses.

5. Astropecten Articulatus

Astropecten Articulatus has purple and golden bodies and is found along the east coast of North America, mainly in the southeast. Although they can live at depths of 213 meters, they mostly live at depths of 21 to 30 meters, where they can consume many mollusks. Unlike many other starfish species, Astropecten articulatus consumes its entire prey.

6. Asterina Miniata

Asterina Miniata is named for the bat-wing-like webbing between its arms. It is found along the west coast of North America, from Alaska, USA to Baja, Hungary. Although the species typically has five arms, it can have up to nine arms and can take on various colors, including green, orange, and purple.

7. Acanthaster Planci

Acanthaster Planci is one of the largest sea stars globally, with spines covering its upper surface and possessing an impressive appetite for stony coral polyps in subtropical waters. In areas where there are few long-spined starfish, they prey on the fastest-growing coral species, thus contributing to the biodiversity of coral reefs.

However, where long-spined sea stars are abundant, they can cause serious damage to coral reefs. The surge in long-spined starfish populations is due to human fishing and harvesting of humphead wrasse, which has reduced the natural predators of long-spined starfish.