Sea stars encompass a variety of colors, shapes and sizes. A friend here has the following hanging on the wall of her adorable oceanside cottage. A typical five-arm sea star:
Also one with four arms:
One with six arms:
And even one with seven arms:
Wow! Did you know that sea stars can grow as may as 40 – 50 arms? And can regenerate a lost arm?
They also come in different colors. We’ve seen them in orange:
Green:
And brown:
Sea stars have a tough spiny covering on top and are soft underneath, with pincer-like organs or suckers.
They eat clams, oysters and snails and live on the ocean bottom in tropical and polar waters. (We saw sea stars in Alaska.)
Conch (konk) is present throughout the Caribbean; they are most indigenous to the Bahamas. These large marine snails live in amazingly beautiful pink-lipped shells. Their shells are popular for jewelry and make fairly competent trumpets. Blown here in the harbor at sunset.
Inside, is the actual conch. First out of the shell is a claw, used to pull the conch along through sand. You can also see its “eyes.”
Watch a conch coming out of its shell: https://youtu.be/OEh7ABZ_uN8 Very lively. That’s the part that is eaten – in fritters, salads, and chowder. We’ve even put it on pizza. Conch is rather tough and must be marinated or tenderized. It has a mild flavor.
So beautiful.
SAIL MOTU ITI 