The animal in question is not a starfish nor does it have a butt, according to an expert.
Published 7:17 PM EDT Jul 2, 2019It's never a pleasure to be a buzzkill, especially for something so delightfully silly. But a "starfish" that went viral recently for its so-called rear end does not have an unusually large butt.
The photo inspired a legion of memes and jokes, some of which likened it it to Patrick Star, the"SpongeBob Squarepants" character.USA TODAY reached out to Nate Jaros, curator of fish and invertebrates at the Aquarium of the Pacific, to explain what it actually is and clear up a fair bit of misconceptions about the sea creature.
"Since the sea star is oriented vertically, gravity is causing its internal components to slump," he explained. Jaros noted the importance of sea stars in marine ecosystems as a"keystone species," or a species that other species depend on. He added that water pollution and increased water temperatures in the ocean have been causing physical distress to the creatures.
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