"Octo-Starfish" Found in Crab Pot

An eight-legged spiny starfish has gone on display at Newquay's Blue Reef Aquarium after being discovered inside a fisherman's crab pot.

The bizarre creature - which appears to be made up of two individual starfish - was found by Newquay crabber Gary Eglington in a pot off St Agnes.

Normal spiny starfish have five legs and are relatively common around the Cornish coastline.  Occaisionally fishermen have also come across six legged individuals but this is the first time an eight-legged specimen has been recorded, by the aquarium.

Blue Reef Aquarium curator Matt Slater said: "starfish have the ability to re-grow lost limbs and the general consensus is that starfish with extra legs are caused by some kind of accidental genetic mutation.

"however with this particular starfish it has three extra legs and it also has two special openings - known as madreporites - through which water is pumped into their fluid filled skeleton.  An individual starfish would normally only have one of these.

"As a result we believe this starfish may have a rare doubling of its genetic material," he added.

The starfish, which measures approximately 25cms in diameter, appears to be in excellent health and is considerably larger than normal specimens.  The fact that he was found inside a crab pot would also suggest that he has no problem finding food.

The spiny starfish gets its name from the lines of bulbous spines that run along each of its arms.  At the end of each of these arms are photosensitive cells that can detect movement.

It is one of the most voracious members of the starfish family and feeds on a variety of both living and dead food including fish, shellfish, moluscs and other starfish.

It lives on rocky bottoms from surface to depths up to 180 metres and is found in the Atlantic Ocean, the English Channel, the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea.

Often blamed for attacks on mussel and oyster farms fishermen would historically cut them up and throw them back into the sea, not realising this would actually result in more starfish, as a single leg and part of the starfish's central disc can replicate into a new animal!