Starfish disintegrate after death. Only the ossicles and spines of the animal are likely to be preserved, making remains hard to locate. With their appealing symmetrical shape, starfish have played a part in literature, legend, design and popular culture. They are sometimes collected as curios, used in design or as logos, and in some cultures, despite possible toxicity, they are eaten. Most starfish have five arms that radiate from a central disc, but the number varies with the group. Some species have six or seven arms and others have 10–15 arms. The Antarctic "Labidiaster annulatus" can have over fifty. Having descended
Crown-of-thorns starfish the starfish found no evidence of the starfish in the fish's guts. These carnivorous fish were caught commercially on the coral reefs on the Gulf of Oman and examined at local fish markets. One problem with the concept of predators of large juvenile and adult starfish causing total mortality is that the starfish have good regenerative powers and they wouldn't keep still while being eaten. Also, they would need to be consumed completely or almost completely to die. 17–60% of starfish in various populations had missing or regenerating arms. Clearly the starfish experience various levels of sublethal predation. When the