starfish
It’s a disease known as “sea star wasting syndrome” and it causes a starfish’s arms to literally escape from their bodies. The appendages detach and then just “walk” away.
Experts at the aquarium where the starfish lives say it's just an optical illusion caused by the way the creature's legs are attached to the rock.
The “marine heat wave” is triggering a “continental-scale collapse of a pivotal predator,” says new study.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
The robot's target is a species of coral-eating starfish responsible for extensive reef damage.