How Do Starfish Eat?

The favorite meal of the starfish is a juicy oyster. But the starfish's mouth, which is located under its body, present a problem — it is smaller than an oyster.

And the oyster presents another problem — it is protected by a hard shell. So when a starfish finds an oyster, it climbs on top of it and locks its many arms around the oyster's shell, then tugs on the shell until the oyster is too tired to hold it closed anymore.

When the shell opens, the starfish turns its stomach inside out, drops it over the oyster's body, then draws it in again when the oyster is nearly digested.

Because of the starfish's fondness for oysters, fishermen who search for oysters have always considered starfish as pests. Years ago, fishermen tried to wipe out starfish by cutting them into pieces and throwing them back into the water. What these fishermen didn't know was that every piece of a starfish can grow into a new starfish!

Although most starfish have five arms, some kinds have as many as 50!