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
Common starfish produced a series of convulsions. In January 2013, large numbers of common starfish were washed up near Cleethorpes Pier on the east coast of England along with many razor shells. There were estimated to be four thousand starfish along the stretch of shore. The cause of this mass stranding was unknown but bad weather and storms out at sea coupled with higher than usual tides may have been to blame. During Storm Frank in the early hours of 31 December 2015 hundreds of starfish were stranded along the coast of Portsmouth, Hampshire. This is not a unique phenomenon and other