Starfish!

Locals and tourists that dive and snorkel in Key West are taken by these stars of the ocean, and some of them (sadly) even take starfish to the surface as a keepsake.

Starfish are native to saline waters, and cannot survive in freshwater rivers and lakes. For this reason, visitors are highly advised against taking them away from their natural habitat.

While they may be named as such, Starfish aren't really fish - they're marine invertebrates.

And in spite of their seemingly vulnerable appearance, don't get fooled. Starfish have natural defenses that help them survive in the wild.

They have bony, calcified skin that protects them from predators, and their colors are based on where they usually hang out, acting as camouflage.

Additionally, Starfish are among the few known animals that can regenerate amputated limbs.

Starfish don't swim or waddle; instead, they use their arms to move around the sea floor in an unusual process of locomotion.

If you're wondering how Starfish eat, they have a remarkable way of consuming food in spite of looking immobile most of the time. They have tiny, suction-cups attached to their feet, which they use to pry open clams and oysters, and their sack-like cardiac stomach emerges from their mouth and oozes inside the shell.

In spite of the fact that Starfish exist in almost every part of the world, they are actually considered to be near threatened due to the destruction of the coral reefs which serve as their habitat.

So let's keep on admiring their beauty, but let's protect them.

Look - don't touch!