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True fish are vertebrates and belong to the Chordata phylum of the animal kingdom. This group encompasses most of the animals we are familiar with, such as mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, as well as humans. Starfish, or sea stars as they are sometimes called, are invertebrates, meaning they have no backbone. These spineless (and we mean that in the best possible way) creatures belong to the spiny-skinned phylum of animals known as Echinodermata and the class
Asteroidea. These animals generally have 5 or 6 arms, though the sunflower starfish, or Pycnopodia helianthoides, can have as many as 15-24 arms. Starfish are carnivores and move very slowly along the ocean floor, using their arms to shovel clams, oysters, and fish into their centrally located mouth. Starfish have no brain; a ring of nerve cells controls all of their functions. They are known for their legendary ability to regenerate a limb -- if they lose one of their arms, it will regrow. More colorful names for this unique creature include the five-fingered Jack or the Devil's hand.
To view some pictures of these otherworldly creatures, we put the new Yahoo! Search to the test, clicking on the "Images" tab, then typing "starfish" into the Search box. Our results were plentiful and showed the wonderful diversity of these beautiful sea creatures.
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