Starfish. Scanning electron micrograph of the underside of a starfish (class Asteroidea), showing the mouth (centre) and the ambulacral grooves runnin

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Starfish. Scanning electron micrograph of the underside of a starfish (class Asteroidea), showing the mouth (centre) and the ambulacral grooves running down the centre of each of the five arms. Each arm also has hundreds of podia, minute foot-like suckers, within the groove that allow the starfish to move on the seabed in any direction. At the end of each arm is a microscopic eye (not seen), which enables the starfish to see its prey. Starfish can choose to be predators, plant-eaters or scavengers, depending on their environment.

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Size: 3600px × 3207px
Photo credit: © STEVE GSCHMEISSNER/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No

Keywords: 1, ambulacral, animal, arms, asteroidea, biological, biology, cavity, coloured, cut, cut-, cutout, echinoderm, echinodermata, false-coloured, fauna, feet, groove, invertebrate, invertebrates, marine, mouth, nature, oral, podia, sea, sem, single, star, starfish, tube, underside, wildlife, zoological, zoology