Can you tell the age of a starfish by the number of legs it has?

No, you cannot tell the age of a starfish by the number of legs it has. Starfish, also known as sea stars, have a remarkable ability to regenerate lost limbs, which makes counting their legs an unreliable method of determining their age. If a starfish loses one or more of its arms due to predation or injury, it can regenerate those limbs over time. Some species of starfish can even regenerate an entirely new body from a single arm!

Instead of counting legs, scientists typically use other methods to estimate the age of a starfish, such as studying the growth rings on their hard parts, like the plates on their upper surface or the ossicles in their arms. By examining these structures, scientists can estimate the age of a starfish with reasonable accuracy. However, it's important to note that estimating the age of a starfish is often difficult due to their regenerative abilities and varying growth rates.