Starfish, sea star, or asteroid? Asking what these star-shaped echinoderms should be called is a good way to get scientists fired up! They’re not fish, so should they be called “starfish?” They’re not really stars, and most people called them starfish, so should they really be called “sea stars?” And asteroids are those rocks in space, silly!
Starfish and echinoderm expert Chris Mah of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History weighs the arguments in his latest post on the Echinoblog. Which term will he choose?
Photo: Steve Mohundro
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