Our earth is full of unique creatures surviving under different habitats. Each of these creatures acquires several unique attributes to make us completely fascinated by their looks. Birth Defect Seen In Starfish
But in some cases, the original characteristics of any living organism can get modified due to genetic disorders or birth defects. One such organism is the starfish which can sometimes change its structure to a square instead of a star. In this article, we would discuss more this fact. So, let us get started.
About the starfish as a wonderful creature.
Sea stars or widely designated as starfish is wonderful water creature. This organism is known to be a star-shaped echinoderm that fits in the family of class Asteroidea. The word” asteroidean” is often used as the starfish are also known as asteroids having belonged to class Asteroidea. Birth Defect Seen In Starfish
On evaluating their species across the world, a total of 1,900 species of starfish have been discovered beneath the water level, in different oceans across the world.
Ranging from warm, tropical zones to polar regions, starfishes can survive in various climatic conditions depending upon their tendency to sustain in different zonal conditions. Moreover, they can also be found down to abyssal depths i.e, at six thousand meters (20,000 ft) or below the earth’s surface. Birth Defect Seen In Starfish
Some associated facts about starfishes are mentioned below:
- Starfish are small marine invertebrates whose size can vary depending upon the habitat they are living in.
- They carry a central disc with five limbs attached to it. However, the length of arms is never constant, the number of arms could also vary from species to species.
- Starfishes have a smoother, upper surface that is granular and a little spiny. This upper body area is covered with several overlapping plates.
- The colour of starfishes is never the same but are mainly carry brightly coloured shades of red, blue, grey, brown or orange.
- These small organisms have tubular feet that are mainly operated by hydraulic mechanisms.
One of their major characteristics is of being opportunistic feeders i.e, once a creature pass through them, they cunningly catch it to feed themselves. They are great hunters found in the seabed. Birth Defect Seen In Starfish
Why do starfish take a square-shaped structure?
Most often we have seen a starfish having the shape of a star, but in some cases, they are found to have a square shape. They are known to attain this structure as a result of a birth defect. Several mutations in genetic structure can lead to modification in the evolution of their species.
One such starfish species to attain a unique shape is the “Biscuit starfish” or the Tosia Magnifica. Under the genetic mutation, the starfish loses all its five arms and acquires a square shape with no arms and hence looks just like any artifact with unique colors and structure placed on the seabed. Birth Defect Seen In Starfish
People may wonder about how could they move without their limbs? As an answer, the starfishes neer use their limbs for movement. Instead, they have several thousand legs on their lower surface to carry out their movement on a surface. Birth Defect Seen In Starfish
