Thursday, September 6, 2012

Rapid speciation in starfish









  1. Great article and blog! However, I wish you would call them sea stars, not starfish. The Asteroidea are not remotely related to fish. Its a common vernacular mistake that the community is trying to change.

    1. Seahorses aren't horses. Killer whales aren't whales. Seagrasses aren't grass. Arrow worms aren't worms. Vampire squid aren't squid. Hairy stone crabs aren't crabs. The litany of taxonomic mistakes in common names is endless. I like to call starfish, starfish, because in my personal experience I find that it actually causes less confusion than referring to them sea stars.

      If you want to get really picky, the Asteroidea are actually more closely related to fish than almost all other invertebrates. Only tunicates are more closely related. And 'fish' represent a huge polyphyletic group where some representatives, like coelocanths, are more closely related to mammals than they are to other things we call fish.

      I appreciate you reading my blog and I appreciate the feedback. I hope you don't mind if I don't take it all on board.

      P.S. sea stars aren't stars :)

