Are there certain starfish that literally twist themselves in half and then grow another side?

Question

If so is this how they procreate? if they don't have a brain what prompts this action?

Answer 1

copperhead is right about the sea stars, you may be thinking about a sea cucumber which are related.

Sea cucumbers are echinoderms. Sea cucumbers are sausage shaped, and their skin is covered with warty bumps or soft spines. When threatened, cucumbers can contract their muscles and shoot out water from their body making them shorter, thicker, and harder. Most can even turn themselves inside out and shoot out their insides which they will later grow
new ones.

Some deep Sea cucumber: When a predator approaches, a sea cucumber sheds its sticky, glowing skin. The skin attaches to the predator and warns other creatures of its presence. Later, if it managed to disgust its attacker long enough to roll away, the Sea Cucumber turns itself back around and grows new guts.


Sea cucumbers have hundreds of tiny suction-cup tube feet that they use to crawl across the sea floor. Three common sea cucumbers are the warty sea cucumber, the California cucumber, and the white star cucumber. Warty sea cucumbers are chestnut brown with black-tipped "warts" all over their bodies. Warty sea cucumbers grow up to ten inches long. California sea cucumbers are brown to reddish-brown and are covered with pointed, cone-shaped projections. The California sea cucumber grows up to sixteen inches long. The white sea cucumber is light orange to white with long, nonretractable spines covering their bodies. White sea cucumbers grow up to four inches long.


Vampire squid: Confusing predators is this animal's key to survival. The squid oozes glowing goo. It can also turn itself inside out.

some new species of squid can also turn themselves inside out. At the begining of 2006 Scientists discovered more than 1800 species of fish off the coast of Australia and New Zeland.

Not sure if this perhaps is what you were looking for.

Answer 2

You're combining two behaviors that aren't related.

Starfish can reproduce by two methods. In sexual reproduction, a groups of seastars (the proper name for them) gathers in an area and release eggs or sperm (seastars are either male or female) and the eggs are fertilized in the water. In asexual reproduction, a seastar is cut, and as long as a part of the central portion is attached, the animal can regrow. The cutting is usually done by fishermen trying to protect mollusc fisheries from the seastars, but they don't realize they are only adding to the problem. This could also happen if a seastar was partially eaten.

Seastars are capable of some twisting themselves around, but this is to feed - they actually turn their stomachs inside out to digest their food.

The twisting & reproduction aren't related. It would be to their disadvantage to do this to themselves - there would be an increased chance of infection in the open wound and an increased risk of predation as other animals would smell/sense the internal fluids/parts.

Here's the SOURCES for my info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starfish
http://www.mcwdn.org/Animals/Starfish.html

Answer 3

All the growing back is cells multiplying. All the starfish does is the cells keep multiplying and multiplying until it forms the part it lost!!

Answer 4

yes there is every starfish can do it.even know they dont have a brain doesnt mean their alive everything thats alive can grow. can you grow?yes you can because your alive.think if you wasnt alive if you were plato you could grow it doesnt have a brain either. but think if you were plato if somebody got you and streched you wouldnt that be growing?yes it will because your strechting.