Starfish Facts on How They Protect Themselves

When a prey is being stalked by predators, the first reaction of the prey is always to flee the scene. It will only be during compromising situations wherein the prey would start to be in fight mode. Unfortunately, starfishes cannot just escape from predators because most of them are generally slow. So they use numerous other defense mechanisms to protect themselves.

According to the starfish facts gathered by zoologists, certain species of starfishes have a chemical coating in their bodies called saponin. Saponin is a chemical that gives the starfish a very unpleasant taste. So as soon as the predator tries to take a bite of the starfish, they can spit the starfish out because of its bitterness. For some species of starfishes, they even have poisons in their outer body walls. There is also a specific kind of starfish that can produce mucus in their skin when they are threatened.

The spines on the back of the starfishes are not just for beautification purposes. These spines can be very sharp which can intimidate and eventually scare the possible predators that will spot the starfishes. In addition to that, the spines also make these starfishes look like rocks instead of living organisms and they help greatly in blending with the background.

Starfish Facts on their Diet

Starfishes are among the most fun- looking marine animals that kids really want to pick when they go to the beach. Because of their appearance, people get more interested about these animals. One of the common questions about starfish facts that kids ask is about the food and the diet of starfishes. The diet of these sea creatures is actually quite interesting because of the variety of food that they eat. There are more than one species of starfishes in More...

Process of Cooking Starfish

The first step of cooking starfishes is putting eight large pieces of them in a pot filled with cold water through the entire night. Chop these creatures into little pieces as you wake up in the morning. You have to chop each of them whole, which means that nothing should be removed from the starfish. Put the starfish slices into a mortar, along with a small quantity of pepper, salt and butter. Grind the whole mixture into some thin paste. More...

External Threats

The greatest threat to starfish is similar one which endangers most other seawater animals: human beings. Starfish needs clean and clear water as its habitat. When humans permit water pollutants to flow into the seas and oceans, these species can get extremely unhealthy and even die. In addition, there are several cultures that allow the eating of starfish. In case too many starfishes are brought away from any area, these beautiful seawater creatures will be deprived of the opportunity to More...

Creating a Starfish Artwork

When considering making a starfish necklace, put a sheet of paraffin paper atop any plane surface. Use glue for drawing the starfish shape little enough to be used as a necklace pendant. Use a toothpick for fixing the shape, if you unintentionally mess up your drawing. Create a letter “V” out of a paper clip. Place both ends of this clip into the adhesive at the top of any of the arms of your starfish. Sprinkle glitter or sand lightly More...

Starfish Facts on its Importance in Nature

A lot of people see starfishes as cute animals by the seashore that you can pick up and take pictures of. But there is actually more to these creatures than just their appearances and colors. Not a lot of people understand starfish facts especially about their contribution to nature. Just like any other animal in the marine kingdom, they contribute a lot in Eco diversity and in keeping the food chain running. Scientists and biologists actually called starfishes as keystone More...

Eliminating Fish Odor from Starfish

The first step of ridding starfish of the fish odor is scraping away any leftover tissue from its underside using a little butter knife. Also, brush off all organic matter, such as seaweed and bugs, which may be sticking to the shell’s spiny top. Combine one part water and three parts bleach together in a large mixing bowl. You have to make sure that the depth of this mixture is enough to soak the starfish that you would like to More...

Starfish Facts on its Ancient History

When it comes to researching about starfish facts on their history, it is actually a very difficult process because starfishes are echinoderms and their species hardly leave any trace in their fossils aside from their external ossicles and spines. This makes it extra difficult for the researchers to spot and identify fossils that are strictly from the starfishes. But according to research findings, starfish fossils can be traced back to Ordovician which is roughly about 450 million years ago. There More...