Decades-Long Mystery Solved: Starfish Revealed as Walking Heads
Scientists have discovered that starfish and other echinoderms are essentially walking heads with little to no body. Through genetic tests on bat stars, researchers found that the head of a starfish is its body, with anterior genes expressed all the way to the tips of its arms. This challenges previous hypotheses that suggested a duplication or stacking of the bilateral body plan. The study also suggests that seemingly bilateral echinoderms, like sea cucumbers, have a radial body plan, resembling a stretched-out head on its side. The reasons behind this unique body plan remain unclear.
