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starfish
(redirected from Sea stars)

   Also found in: Dictionary/thesaurus, Wikipedia, Hutchinson 0.01 sec.
starfish: see sea star sea star, also called starfish, echinoderm of the class Asteroidae, common in tide pools. Sea stars vary in size from under 1-2 in. (1.3 cm) to over 3 ft (90 cm) in diameter.
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starfish

 or sea star

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Principal features of a starfish. Water for the water vascular system enters through the …
(credit: © Merriam-Webster Inc.)
Any of 1,800 echinoderm species (class Asteroidea) that have regenerable arms surrounding an indistinct disk and that inhabit all oceans. Species range from 0.4 to 25 in. (1–65 cm) across, but most are 8–12 in. (20–30 cm) across. Their arms, usually five, are hollow and, like the disk, covered with short spines and pincerlike organs; on the lower side are tube feet, sometimes sucker-tipped, used for creeping or clinging to steep surfaces. Some species sweep organic particles into the mouth on the underside of the disk. Others either evert the stomach upon their prey for external digestion or swallow the prey whole.


starfish
any echinoderm of the class Asteroidea, such as Asterias rubens, typically having a flattened body covered with a flexible test and five arms radiating from a central disc

starfish [′stär‚fish]
(invertebrate zoology)
The common name for echinoderms belonging to the subclass Asteroidea.


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? Mentioned in ? References in periodicals archive
 
As the Healy sails forward, the net drags behind, gathering bottom-dwelling animals such as crabs, sea stars, and fish.
1 Invertebrate species like snails and sea stars are moving northward, likely due to a rise in water and air temperatures.
Teachers can stock it with crabs, oysters, sea cucumbers, sea stars, sand dollars, periwinkles, mussels, hermit crabs, crayfish and other species that dwell in lakes, rivers and coastal waters.
 
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