Changes

Starfish are not [[fish]] and should really be called sea stars. They are Echinoderms, meaning ‘spiny skinned animals’ of the class ''Asteroidea'', in which there are around 1500 species.<ref>http://www.vsf.cape.com/~jdale/science/science.htm</ref> [[Fossil]] starfish resembling today’s have been found dating back 450 million years. Some species of starfish always have five rays, but some always have more – sunflower stars can have over 20 - and some species are variable.  

'''Starfish'''  are Echinoderms, meaning ‘spiny skinned animals’ of the class ''Asteroidea'', in which there are around 1500 species.<ref>http://www.vsf.cape.com/~jdale/science/science.htm</ref> They are not [[fish]] and should really be called sea stars. [[Fossil]] starfish resembling today’s have been found dating back 450 million years. Some species of starfish always have five rays, but some always have more – sunflower stars can have over 20 - and some species are variable.  

They are related to [[sea slugs]] and [[sea cucumbers]], <ref> http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/may98/892688355.Zo.r.html </ref> but unlike those creatures asteroids aren’t edible by humans. In fact, they aren’t edible to many creatures – their spiny skin and awkward shape makes them distasteful to most. They also have tiny structures like pincers, called ''pedicellariae'', that are probably used for defense as well as capturing small particles of food. They are found all over the world, and at all depths of the sea, though they tend to favor rocky shallows. <ref>http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0311542/starfish.htm#Info</ref>

They are related to [[sea slugs]] and [[sea cucumbers]], <ref> http://www.madsci.org/posts/archives/may98/892688355.Zo.r.html </ref> but unlike those creatures asteroids aren’t edible by humans. In fact, they aren’t edible to many creatures – their spiny skin and awkward shape makes them distasteful to most. They also have tiny structures like pincers, called ''pedicellariae'', that are probably used for defense as well as capturing small particles of food. They are found all over the world, and at all depths of the sea, though they tend to favor rocky shallows. <ref>http://library.thinkquest.org/TQ0311542/starfish.htm#Info</ref>