Sea stars belong to the phylum echinoderm which means spiny skin. Sea stars have a unique vascular system that moves water through canals that end on the under surface in tube feet. These tube feet expand and contract allowing the animal to move and to eat. Sea stars feed mostly on mollusks such as clams and oysters and other echinoderms including sea urchins. The large sea star in the foreground of the picture is a Sunflower star which can grow to two feet in diameter and can be orange, red, yellow, pink or brown. The specimen on the left is a Pacific Blood Star and the smaller purple sea stars are known as Bat Stars. Sea Stars are not edible and have the ability to regenerate limbs.
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