New genetic research shows what we thought was a starfish's body is actually its head

According to newly released genetic research, we may have had the anatomy of starfish wrong all along.

Transcript

00:00 And finally, we take you under the sea to a place where starfish roam the ocean floor.

00:04 When you think of a starfish, you probably think of it having a body in the middle

00:07 and five legs protruding from that body. Well, new genetic research is telling us that

00:12 what we thought was the starfish's body is actually the starfish's head. Okay, look,

00:18 we understand this story is hard to, shall we say, wrap your head around, but it gets even weirder.

00:24 Scientists say this new revelation could help answer some of the biggest remaining questions

00:29 about starfish, including their shared ancestry with humans and other animals that look nothing

00:35 like them.