Did you know that the rare starfish species, the sunflower sea star (Pycnopodia helianthoides), was thought to have almost died out because of exposure to a bacteria? But on June 23, 2026, scientists found some of the rare animals near the coast of California.

These starfish are very cool! According to the , sunflower sea stars can move three feet a minute. The sunflower sea star can grow up to 24 legs. According to the undefined, it can also grow as wide as the height of a three-year-old human. They eat sea urchins, clams, snails, and invertebrates.

In 2013, a bacteria or disease killed around six billion sunflower sea stars. There was also an underwater heat wave in 2014 which caused more sea stars to die. Sunflower sea stars have since been labeled functionally extinct.

After the 2013 outbreak, the sunflower sea stars lost around 95% of their species. They used to live all along the western coast but now there are only a few left. That said, there’s still hope for this species. Scientists are monitoring their DNA, testing them for diseases, breeding them in labs, and searching for wild populations. Their goal is to bring these sea stars back. Let’s save the sea stars!