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Luidia senegalensis is a tropical species of starfish in the family Luidiidae. It has nine long, slim tapering arms attached to a small circular central disc and grows to a diameter of about 30 to 40 centimetres (12 to 16 in). It can be found from the coasts of Florida as far south as southern Brazil, where it favours sandy, muddy or shelly seabeds in sheltered locations such as lagoons. It feeds primarily on molluscs, small crustaceans, and polychaete worms, which it swallows whole by everting its stomach and engulfing its prey.Photograph: Andrea Westmoreland