Chocolate-Chip Sea Star: The Reef's Cookie-Dotted Starfish

Of all the creatures guests point at on a snorkel tour near Jacó, few get as many smiles as the chocolate-chip sea star. Tan-colored and studded with dark little bumps that look exactly like chocolate chips on a cookie, it's as photogenic as the reef gets. Here's how to recognize one in our Central Pacific cove, the surprising way it eats and heals, and the one rule that keeps it safe.

How to recognize a chocolate-chip sea star

The name does all the work: a light tan or cream body with rows of short, dark, cone-shaped bumps across the top — the "chocolate chips." It has the classic five-armed star shape and a slightly firm, bumpy feel to its skin. On the underside are hundreds of tiny tube feet it uses to creep slowly across the sand and rocks. Because they move so little, they're one of the easiest things to find and admire once your guide spots one.

How it eats (you'll barely believe this)

Sea stars have one of the strangest feeding tricks in the ocean: to eat, many of them push their stomach out through their mouth, digest the food outside the body, and then pull the stomach back in. They graze on algae, tiny organisms, and detritus on the reef, helping keep the cove clean. No teeth, no chasing — just a slow, patient eater doing quiet work on the bottom.

A quiet healer

Sea stars have a remarkable superpower: if they lose an arm to a predator or accident, they can slowly regenerate it. Some species can even regrow most of their body from a single arm. It's a good reminder of how tough yet delicate reef life is — resilient over months, but easily stressed by a careless hand in a single moment.

Where you'll see them in our cove

Chocolate-chip sea stars like the calm, shallow, sandy and rocky patches of the sheltered cove near Playa Mantas we snorkel on every tour. Because the water is clear and gentle, you can often spot one without even putting your face down — and you never need to be a strong swimmer to find them. Bright mornings, when the sun lights up the sandy bottom, are the best time to catch their cookie-dotted color.

The sea star is just one of many characters down there. For the full cast, read our guide to the fish and marine life you'll see snorkeling near Jacó, or see real guest photos in our reviews.