Can you tell the age of a seastar by the number of arms it has?

Seastars, also known as starfish, are fascinating marine animals that can regenerate their lost arms. However, the number of arms a seastar has does not necessarily indicate its age.

Seastars have the ability to regenerate their arms, which means they can lose and regrow their arms multiple times throughout their lives. In fact, some species of seastars can regenerate their entire body from just one arm.

Therefore, the number of arms a seastar has is not an accurate measure of its age. Instead, the age of a seastar can be determined by other methods such as growth rings on their ossicles (skeletal elements), which are similar to tree rings.