Sea Stars (Asteroidea) are sometimes called Starfish, even though they are not fish at all.

These animals belong to the phylum Echinodermata, which means "spiny skinned." This phylum is made up of five classes: Asteroidea (sea stars), Echinoidea (sea urchins), Ophiuroidea (brittle stars), Crinoidea (feather stars and sea lilies) and Holothurioidea (sea cucumbers). There are more than 5,000 species and most of them prefer warm waters.

The usual number of arms on these creatures is five but they can have as many as 30. If an arm is broken off, they can grow a new one in its place. They can even regenerate a whole animal from a single arm. Their arms are tipped with suction cups which helps them move along and open their prey which includes clams and other bivalves, sea urchins, and even other sea stars.

A sea star's mouth is on the bottom center where the arms meet. A starfish feeds largely on shellfish, and it shows a special preference for clams and oysters. Although the starfish moves slowly, the clam is much slower in plowing through the mud, and the starfish soon overtakes it.

The plush toy Starfish is a Beanie Baby named Wish, made by Ty Inc.

starfish image at top from Roy W Lowe/USFWS