Fab Photos Friday: Starfish Creature Feature!

As I have often said, I love everything below the waves. Everything is colorful, interesting, and well, downright fascinating! One creature I love to photograph is the Seastar, or Starfish. They come in varied sizes and colors, but they are all Echinoderms. Echinoderms are invertebrates (meaning they have no vertebral column (spine) and many have evolved hard shells or exoskeletons to protect themselves. The Starfish has a central disc with five arms (some can have more arms, some can have less) which can regenerate if torn off by a predator. Many, many different animals can be classified as Starfish or Seastars, but for today, we are going to look at some of the more common types. Enjoy their variety, and glorious color!

A lot of people like to decorate with seastars these days…but make sure they are fake and made from wood or some other material. Please leave them in the ocean, where they can charm us all with their pretty colors and shapes.  Which one is your favorite?