Table of Contents
How can you tell if a starfish is male or female?
Males produce sperm and females create eggs, so the gonad structures of the two genders are distinct. The reproductive organs are often small or housed on the inside of the animal’s body, so it’s difficult to tell them apart even if you flip the starfish over to look at its underside.
How do you identify a starfish?
Easily distinguishable physical characteristics to help determine which species you may be looking at include size, number of arms, skin texture and color.
- Size. Measuring the diameter, or total length across, of a sea star can be helpful in determining its species.
- Arms.
- Skin Texture.
- Color and Pattern.
Can a starfish have both male and female sex organs?
Some species of starfish can be hermaphrodite as well, meaning that the same individual have both male and female sex organs or other sexual characteristics. In hermaphrodites, the same individual can produce both eggs and sperm at the same time and in a few of these, the same gonad, called an ovotestis, produces both eggs and sperm.
What are the physical characteristics of a starfish?
Physical Characteristics and Appearance. When it comes to color starfish come in many different colors like red, pink, orange, yellow, green, blue, white, brown, purple and black. As far a speed is concerned starfish are very slow moving ocean animals that are known for their snail like movement speed.
What kind of reproduction does a starfish have?
The following description of the reproduction in Starfish is generalized and based mainly on the starfish Asterias rubens. Asterias is unisexual in nature, that is the individuals are either male or female. Proper sexual dimorphism is not well-defined in starfish until and unless you study their internal anatomy.
Which is part of a starfish is sensitive to touch?
The tube feet, spines and pedicellariae are sensitive to touch. The tube feet, especially those at the tips of the rays, are also sensitive to chemicals, enabling the starfish to detect odour sources such as food. There are eyespots at the ends of the arms, each one made of 80–200 simple ocelli.