2-minute read

Because we know you have burning questions about invertebrates…

If you head out for an end-of-summer seaside wander, you might come across a five-legged fellow commonly known as a starfish. And if you’re anything like this team of biologists from Stanford University, you might ask yourself, if a starfish wore clothes, where would it put its’ trousers? Naturally, you might say, on its legs since it has so many. But are those pointy appendages legs, or are they arms? Perhaps a sweater would be better? Or if some are arms and some are legs, which are which, and how can you tell?

According to scientists, most animals evolve with a three-part body plan and bilateral symmetry. There is a head end, a tail end, a trunk in the middle, and a symmetrical body on either side. Examining the body structures of cats or camels, dogs or donkeys, beavers or buffalo it’s easy to tell which is the tail end and where to place trousers, if need be. Although starfish start with body symmetry as larvae, unlike other animals, they don’t maintain that symmetry as they grow. The spiny sea creatures don’t have an obvious head or tail, so what gives? How are the piece parts of a starfish body organized?

Perhaps the brain occupies one arm, and the legs are on the opposite end? Or maybe each leg or arm has a three-part body plan duplicated five times that is joined at the head in the middle? To find out, the Stanford researchers mapped the gene expression of starfish to determine how they were configured. What they discovered is that the animal’s brain is in the center, extending out into five points, but there is no trunk, and those appendages are not legs or arms. As it turns out, a starfish is all head. So, according to the Stanford starfish detectives, if you are going to gift this invertebrate with apparel, your best bet is to go with a hat.

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