Why are starfish named starfish?

Answer 1

Well a starfish is called a starfish because,it is shaped like a star. (answer found by 10 year old Katie Shymonowicz( Shy-mon-o-witz)

Katie is right, but I must add that a starfish is no longer called a starfish. It is now called a "sea star." Starfish was a misnomer as it wasn't a fish. But they get the name sea star because they live in the ocean and they are shaped like a star. (answer found by 11 year old Megan Varney)

Answer 2

TAKEN FROM: http://www.answers.com/topic/crown-of-thorns Acanthaster planci ORDER Valvatida FAMILY Acanthasteridae TAXONOMY Acanthaster planci Linnaeus, 1758. OTHER COMMON NAMES None known. PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS Size over 16 in (40 cm) in diameter with between 10 and 30 arms covered in dense thorn-like spines, which are mildly venomous; can inflict painful wounds that are slow to heal. Red and green coloration with reddish tips to spines. Juveniles are cryptic in color. Tube feet can function in gas exchange and feeding. DISTRIBUTION Pacific and Indian coral reefs, particularly associated with reefs in http://www.answers.com/topic/hawaii, Australia, the Red Sea, India, and http://www.answers.com/topic/south-africa. HABITAT Adults found on open sand and feed among coral, whilst juveniles tend to hide among the coral, under rocks, and coral rubble. BEHAVIOR Sedentary dwellers of reef habitats. Large numbers may suddenly appear feeding on coral and then disappear. FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET Solitarily, generally feeds at night. A voracious predator of hard corals. Digests food by everting its stomach over coral, releasing a digestive enzyme and then absorbing liquefied tissue. Can survive without food for six months and feed on an estimated 3.1 mi2 (8 km2) of coral per year, leaving behind dead coral skeletons. REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY Sexual reproduction. Planktonic larvae undergo bipinnaria and http://www.answers.com/topic/brachiolaria-invertebrate-zoology development. Regenerates broken arms to form another individual. CONSERVATION STATUS Not listed by the http://www.answers.com/topic/iucn-zoology. SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS Have caused widespread damage to coral reefs in the Indo-Pacific Ocean, Red Sea, and http://www.answers.com/topic/australia's Great Barrier Reef. Toxic spines capable of stinging humans, inflicting pain at site of sting and causing nausea.

Answer 3

The crown of thorns SEA STAR was name such because it is covered with venomous thorns on the top.