Asterias rubens
- Common starfish can undergo both sexual and asexual reproduction
- In order for a common starfish to undergo asexual reproduction they need to divide out from the "disk"
- The "disk" is the central part of the starfish where the five legs extend out of
- After the starfish divides once, it regrows its remaining missing body parts so two new starfishes are generated
- However, as with many multicellular organisms, female starfish produce eggs and male starfish produce sperm so they can both undergo sexual reproduction
- In most the case of most starfish, sexual reproduction happens outside of the starfish rather than inside the starfish
- Starfish tend to simply release their eggs and sperm into the ocean where they will meet and undergo fertilization, thereby creating a new starfish
- In rare cases, starfish can and do sexually reproduce internally it is a lot more common for starfish to either release their gametes and sexually reproduce externally or asexually reproduce
This is a picture showing the ability of a starfish to regrow its missing arm, which proves to be useful when it is asexually reproducing.
This is a video showing a starfish asexually reproducing, one of the may ways a starfish can reproduce