starfishfacts.org

In general, starfish regenerate by way of a three-stage process. Firstly, the repair stage heals the creature’s exposed wound. This phase is followed by the regenerative stage, in which the body of the echinoderm produces new cells and begins new growth.

The final phase is referred to as the advanced regenerative stage, during which significant cell proliferation starts. Growth factors, which are neurally derived, determine the processes responsible for the formation of patterns during the last stage. If anything intervenes or causes a deviation from such patterns while the sea star is regenerating, then the end result will be probably deformed.

Replacing missing limbs is not the only way a sea star regenerates. The starfish can also asexually reproduce by tearing its own body apart. Each of the body sections has the potential to develop into a new starfish, which is genetically similar to other segments from the same creature. Sea stars also use this ability for cloning themselves after an injury or attack divides their body into parts, as once was prevalent when oyster fishers used to cut sea stars up before they throw them back into the water. The fishermen believed that they were ending the lives of sea stars, but were in fact causing their population to increase.