Sea Stars: Asteroidea

Sea stars live in the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian oceans, including the Antarctic regions.

Sea stars live in the sea from the shore to the deepest ocean. They live in sea grass beds, under rock rubble, on coral reefs and rocky underwater cliffs, and in sand and mud.

Sea stars eat anything that is too slow to escape, such as mollusks, crustaceans, sponges, worms, and even other sea stars and their relatives. Mollusks (MAH-lusks) are animals with a soft, unsegmented body that may or may not have a shell. Crustaceans (krus-TAY-shuns) are water-dwelling animals that have jointed legs and a hard shell but no backbone.

Sea stars are not considered threatened or endangered.