When we talk about stars, we usually picture small bright stars high in the dark night sky. When we talk about sea stars, most people think of sea animals with five arms under the ocean water. But did you know there’s a special kind of sea star with many more arms? Scientists once believed these sea stars had died out completely, but a recent discovery undefined otherwise.

This amazing sea star is the Sunflower sea star. Its scientific name is Pycnopodia helianthoides.(wikipedia.org). It is the biggest and fastest‑moving sea star in the Pacific Ocean. Normal sea stars only have five hard arms. However, Sunflower sea stars can grow up to 24 soft and bendable arms. With these many arms, they can move quickly over rocky ocean floors and thick seaweed forests in the northeast Pacific Ocean.

These sea stars have a long life. They can live for as long as 65 years. A long time ago, they lived in a wide sea area. Their home stretched from Alaska’s Aleutian Islands all the way to Baja California. They could even live in deep seawater, about 435 meters below the sea surface.

Here is one more fun fact you may hardly believe: The whole body of a Sunflower sea star is mostly its head.(popsci.com). It does not have a clear body part separate from its head. Next time you learn about sea stars, remember this unusual animal. It has plenty of arms, moves fast and holds many wonderful secrets deep in the ocean.