Starfish Starfish Starfish or sea stars are star-shaped echinoderms belonging to the class Asteroidea. Common usage frequently finds these names being also applied to ophiuroids, which are correctly referred to as brittle stars or "basket stars". About 1,500 species of starfish occur on the seabed in all the world's oceans, from the tropics to frigid polar waters. They are found from the intertidal zone down to abyssal depths, below the surface. Starfish are marine invertebrates. They typically have a central disc and five arms, though some species have a larger number of arms. The aboral or upper surface may be smooth,
Crown-of-thorns starfish of the fauna of most coral reefs and the effects of "A. planci" populations on coral reefs are very dependent on the population density. At low densities (1 to perhaps 30/hectare) the rate at which coral is being preyed upon by the starfish, is less than the growth rate of the coral, i.e. the surface area of living coral is increasing. The starfish may, however, influence the coral community structure. Because the starfish don't feed indiscriminately they may cause a distribution of coral species and colony sizes that differs from a pattern without them. This is evident by comparison of