I’m rapidly coming to the conclusion that a starfish with five legs is a lot less interesting than a starfish with a number of legs other than five. Sometimes they regrow their limbs, and sometimes they appear to adapt to life with the reduced number. Here are some more brave starfish, from my underwater adventures.
Both of these guys are perfectly symmetrical. I wonder, however, if having an even number of legs creates a weakness in their bodies (in the same way that a mag wheel with an even number of spokes is weaker than one with an odd number of spokes) because of that central symmetry.
I like finding starfish that have just started growing a limb back. I have no sense of how long this takes, but I’d guess a couple of weeks as opposed to months. I don’t think starfish live that long!
The new limbs sometimes look all pink and tender, as though they don’t belong to the rest of the bodies yet. The starfish below has a small pink leg, and four full-size orange ones.
Here’s a three-legged starfish at Long Beach. I think he’s very recently dead – that’s indicated when the textured exterior coating starts to peel off. What a pity!
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