Collection Screen Savers Win Wallpaper Mac Wallpaper Movie Gallery Phase Contrast Image Gallery Starfish Arms Starfish typically have five arms, or rays, but there are species with as few as three or as many as fifty.
Arms occur in a variety of sizes and shapes, depending on the species.
Starfish arms are multipurpose appendages, used for feeding, locomotion, smelling, tasting, vision, and reproduction. The bottom of each arm is lined with rows of tube feet that allow it to creep in any direction or cling to steep surfaces. Although starfish don't have true vision, they do have an eyespot on the tip of each arm that allows them to distinguish between light and dark. Each arm contains sex organs used for sexual reproduction and in some species each arm, or even a piece of an arm, is capable of regenerating an entirely new starfish. Starfish, also called sea stars, are perhaps one of the most familiar of marine organisms and are practically a symbol of ocean life.