Echinoderm Facts For Kids. Fun Information About Echinoderms

Echinoderms are marine animals designed with spiny skin and radial symmetry, meaning their body parts arrange in a circle. This fascinating group includes starfish, sea urchins, sand dollars, and sea cucumbers found only in ocean waters. Most echinoderms have five arms or body sections and move using hundreds of tiny tube feet powered by water pressure.

There are about 7,000 species of echinoderms living on ocean floors from tide pools to deep sea trenches. These amazing animals can regenerate lost body parts, with starfish able to regrow entire arms! Echinoderms eat algae, dead animals, and small creatures, and they play important roles in keeping ocean ecosystems healthy by cleaning up debris and controlling prey populations.