Page 75 - World of Animals - Deadly Predators

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8. How low can they go?
12. Do they have
Versatile in their choice of habitat, starfish
any defences?
can be found throughout the depths of To protect themselves
the ocean, from the shallows around the from predators, the upper
shoreline down to more than 1,000 metres side of most starfish
(around 3,280 feet) below the surface. bodies are covered in
calcium-carbonate plates.
This tough exterior helps
9. Can they see? protect against other
Placed at the end of starfish limbs are marine life such as crabs,
‘eyespots’ – photoreceptor cells that allow fish and sea otters. To
them to detect light, shadows and large offer further protection a
great deal of them sport
structures such as prey. If unobstructed, a
thorn-like spines, which
starfish is able to ‘see’ 360 degrees.
serve to deter predators
from attacking.
10. How fast are they?
13. How big are they?
Although typically slow and steady in
Many starfish are small
their pace on the seafloor at about 15 enough to fit into the
centimetres a minute, the sunflower palm of your hand.
starfish uses its 15,000 tubular feet to However, some species
walk a metre in around one minute. have grown to be giants
of the sea. The sunflower
starfish, for example, can
11. How are they able grow to have a diameter
to eat shellfish? of 1 metre (3.3 feet) wide,
and the giant sea star can
Starfish limbs are strong enough to prise span up to 60 centimetres
open the shells of prey animals such as © Alamy (23.6 inches).
mussels and clams.

15. Why all the colours?
14. How do they hold onto prey? To evade detection from passing predators,

In order to grapple its prey into submission, a many species of starfish have evolved to display
starfish uses its many limbs lined with hundreds of different colours, patterns and exterior lumps to
mimic and blend into their rocky surroundings.
tubular sticky feet. These feet not only act as a
conveyor belt to transport invertebrates to the 16. Do any starfish have

mouth, but also allow them to manoeuvre over more than five legs?

difficult terrain. While the majority of starfish have five limbs,
several species have upwards of 20 to 40 limbs.

17. Do they have brains?
No, starfish are devoid of
any blood or a brain. They
rely on their sense of sight
and smell to navigate.
18. Do they have other
vital organs?
Throughout each of the
limbs of a starfish are their
vital organs. Despite this,
should a limb be taken by
a predator, starfish can © Thinkstock
continue to survive.

19. Do they ever eat
other starfish?
Some starfish aren’t picky 20. Why are they so
when it comes to food
and will eat others of their dangerous to coral?
species. The morning sun
starfish has a taste for A single crown-of-thorns
fellow starfish and actively starfish can eat six square
predates them.
metres (64.6 square feet) of
coral a year. They are a major

factor behind the destruction
© Thinkstock of the Great Barrier Reef.

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