Asterias forbesi Asterias forbesi Asterias forbesi, commonly known as Forbes sea star, is a species of starfish in the family Asteriidae. It is found in shallow waters in the northwest Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. "Asterias forbesi" usually has 5 arms but occasionally has 4 or 6. Like many starfish species, the upper surface is covered in blunt conical projections giving it a rough feel. Some of these are pedicellariae, minute pincers that can grip objects. The arms are plump, broad at the base and tapering to a blunt tip. This starfish grows to about in diameter with an arm length
Starfish trail behind. Most starfish cannot move quickly, a typical speed being that of the leather star ("Dermasterias imbricata"), which can manage just in a minute. Some burrowing species from the genera "Astropecten" and "Luidia" have points rather than suckers on their long tube feet and are capable of much more rapid motion, "gliding" across the ocean floor. The sand star ("Luidia foliolata") can travel at a speed of per minute. When a starfish finds itself upside down, two adjacent arms are bent backwards to provide support, the opposite arm is used to stamp the ground while the two remaining arms