Icon Starfish

10 Stunningly Beautiful And Rare Starfish In The World

As the name says, starfish is comprised of star-shaped arms with most alluring and shocking shapes like myriad, rectangle, and spiny. Some of them are featured with unique color, arm counts, and sizes. There are about 1500 species of starfish, found from shoreline to seabed. Some of them are found at extreme depths, ranging between 3000 and 6000 meters touching the seabed. We have come up with the 10 most beautiful starfish in the world that perfectly resembles a showpiece.

10. Nine-Armed Sea Star (Luidia Senegalensis)

Nine armed Sea Star

Nine-Armed Sea Star has slim and long tapering arms attached to the central disc, commonly found in the western Atlantic Ocean. The habitat of Nine-armed Sea Star is mainly focused on the muddy seabed and sandy locations such as lagoons. It grows up to 40 centimeters in diameter. It has beautiful spines on its long plates, which resembles a perfect contrast with cream or yellow colored arms.

9. Square Biscuit Starfish

Square Biscuit Starfish

Square Biscuit Starfish is distinctively bright orange in color, which can grow up to 6 centimeters. It is mainly found in Australia. The upper surface of the Square Biscuit Starfish is covered with interlocking small plates. This pattern and color contrast exactly resembles a large biscuit, which camouflages with the seabed.

8. Crown-of-thorns Starfish (Acanthaster Planci)

Crown of thorns starfish

As the name suggests, this species of starfish is covered with a huge number of thrones, which are nothing but stings of venom. It is mainly found over a wide range in the subtropical regions, from the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea, and from the western coast of Central America to the Pacific Ocean. An adult grows up to 35 centimeters and probably have 21 arms. The bulged species can rupture its body parts if taken out of water. Further, it can turn out to be flattened one if taken off from water.

You may also like: 10 Most Beautiful Snakes In The World

7. Vermilion Biscuit Sea Star (Mediaster aequalis)

Vermilion Biscuit Sea Star

Vermilion Biscuit Sea Star, also referred to as “Equal Arm Star”, is a bright red starfish having a web-like pattern throughout the external parts. They are commonly found along the coast, where tides are at their lowest. It is capable of moving at a speed between 20 and 47 centimeters per minute. They generally reside on mud, rocks, and shells and are commonly found in southern parts of California.

6. Royal Starfish (Astropecten Astriculatus)

Royal Starfish

Royal Starfish is a generally dark blue to purple, commonly found in West Atlantic. It has alluring arms ranging between 2 and 9 centimeters in length,  with supermargina white spines. It is capable of eating the prey entirely at a single shot, unlike other species of starfish. The habitat of Royal Starfish is found at depths of 200 meters from the sea surface and is also commonly seen along the southeast coast of the United States.

5. Egyptian Sea Star (Gomophia Egyptian)

Egyptian Sea Star

Egyptian Sea Star is a spiky starfish capable of regenerating its damaged parts. It is mainly found in Madagascar and the coasts of Eastern Africa. The spiky layer on its external part resembles a cactus. They secrete unique juice and liquid for eating their prey since they don’t have a mouth.

4. Icon Starfish (Iconaster Longimanus)

Icon Starfish

Icon Starfish also referred to as “Double Starfish” is a handsome starfish, found mainly in the Indo-Pacific Ocean. It has a magnificent central disc, which resembles a star and the arms are slender. Further, it grows up to a diameter of about 30 centimeters in length and resides mainly in deep reef areas. The arms perfectly match with a typical mosaic tile, which is well in contrast with the central disc.

3. Australian Southern Sand Star (Luidian Australiae)

Australian Southern Sand Star

Australian Southern Sand Star has a varied number of dull yellowish tapering arms with almost slim plates. It is mainly found in the Pacific Ocean around Australia and New Zealand. Basically, the Southern Sand Star doesn’t consist of bright spots on its central disc and is irregularly blotched with dark black spots on its arms. It grows up to 40 centimeters in diameter, and habitat in seagrass meadows, and reefs. Finally, these are always semi-submerged in the sand, which helps to camouflage with the seabed.

2. Chocolate Chip Sea Star (Protoreaster Nodosus)

Chocolate Chip Sea Star

Chocolate Chip Sea Star also referred to as “Horned Sea Star”, is a roughly rigid five-armed starfish mainly found in the Indo-Pacific region. It perfectly resembles a bunch of chocolate chip being littered on the body of the species. Additionally, these black conical horns are used to scare predators. Further, it needs a perfect diet and water condition for its survival. Though these species look furious, they show relatively non-aggressive behavior.

1. Necklace Starfish (Fromia Monilis)

Necklace Starfish

Necklace Starfish is a gem-like starfish, mostly patterned as red or orange on its plates. The central disc is magnificently bright, having color ranging between red, orange and yellow. Further, the plates are slightly paler when compared to central disc, and are larger along the external margin, ending up with flattened upper surface. It is mainly found in Western Pacific, Indian Ocean, and resides in a rocky environment where well-grown algae are seen.

You may also like: 10 Hideous Looking Scorpion Species in the World