Hundreds of starfish have washed up on the Fife coastline.
Up to 1000 of the sea creatures were discovered on a mile-long stretch between Dysart and West Wemyss on Saturday.
Starfish can only survive for a few minutes out of water, meaning several were already dead by the time they were found.
Rough seas could be to blame for Fife starfish stranding
So far there is no clear explanation for the mass stranding – although there are suggestions that rough seas could be to blame.
The macabre discovery was made by Reece King from Kirkcaldy.
Reece said: “There must have been around 900-1000 of them washed up on about a mile section between Dysart and West Wemyss.
“Some were moving so we put them back in the water but sadly a lot of them had been out of the water too long.
“A lot had missing limbs which could be consistent with colliding with the rocks and being battered by the waves.
“I have never seen anything like it before,”
Reece said there has been a lot of speculation as to why so many starfish have been stranded there.
“There have been high winds and stormy weather that could be responsible for washing them ashore.
“I have been led to believe the speed of the currents could cause the waves to wash them ashore.
“However, there’s obviously other potential reasons such as pollution and predators or to do with the breeding season.”
Natural occurrence
A spokesperson for British Divers Marine Life Rescue said that while they mainly deal with marine mammals, they were aware that rough seas and storms plus sudden changes in sea temperature could result in sea creatures like starfish being washed ashore in large numbers.
According to information published by the Natural History Museum starfish strandings are a natural occurrence that happen every year to some degree.
It adds that large strandings often occur after stormy weather when water currents become stronger and wash the starfish to the shore.
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