--- title: Why the Inedible 'Ravioli Starfish' Looks Like It's Pasta description: The new star of the internet is a starfish that looks like an Italian dinner dish. Here's why that "ravioli starfish" looks so delicious. canonical: https://time.com/5624416/ravioli-starfish/ author: Rachel E. Greenspan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-07-11T18:41:32.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T04:46:05.797Z og:title: Let's Take a Deep Dive Into the 'Ravioli Starfish' That Looks Like a Stuffed-Pasta Shaped Wonder of the Sea og:description: It's a big month for starfish online og:url: https://time.com/5624416/ravioli-starfish/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86d4425ef7fc5e3d/6989ffcd09208f139c41539c/ravioli-starfish.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1920 og:image:height: 1080 og:image:alt: Why the Inedible 'Ravioli Starfish' Looks Like It's Pasta og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Let's Take a Deep Dive Into the 'Ravioli Starfish' That Looks Like a Stuffed-Pasta Shaped Wonder of the Sea twitter:description: It's a big month for starfish online twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86d4425ef7fc5e3d/6989ffcd09208f139c41539c/ravioli-starfish.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Let's Dive Into the Story of the 'Ravioli Starfish' That Looks Like a Stuffed-Pasta Shaped Wonder of the Sea > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME Newsletters: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition TIME publishes seven free email newsletters, written and edited by TIME journalists, reaching more than 1.1 million engaged readers. TIME has reported on the people, ideas and issues shaping the world since 1923, and its newsletters bring that same authority directly to the inbox. Readers can join any of them at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=5fd3abfb-a770-4e7d-bae0-c6ba060e9812&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### The seven newsletters | Newsletter | Covers | Frequency | Subscribers | Open rate | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | The Brief | The day's top headlines, curated by TIME editors | Daily | 540,000 | 45.6% | | Inside TIME | A closer look at TIME's latest cover and our most compelling stories | Wednesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 430,000 | 50.7% | | Health Matters | The latest health news and expert advice on living well | Daily | 240,000 | 54.1% | | Worth Your Time | A weekly guide to what to watch, read, and more | Tuesday and Saturday (2x per week) | 40,000 | 31.7% | | D.C. Brief | Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington | Monday to Saturday (3x per week) | 85,000 | 37.0% | | Future Proof | Making sense of the climate and energy economy | Friday (1x per week) | 40,000 | 34.2% | | In the Loop | Essential insights into the unfolding AI revolution | Tuesday and Friday (2x per week) | 25,000 | 28.6% | Source: TIME, August 2026. Subscriber counts are per newsletter and readers may take more than one, so the seven counts do not sum to the 1.1 million+ unique newsletter audience. ### Key data points | Metric | Value | Source | | --- | --- | --- | | Engaged newsletter audience | 1.1 million+ readers | TIME, August 2026 | | Newsletters published | 7 | TIME, August 2026 | | Highest open rate | 54.1%, Health Matters | TIME, August 2026 | | Largest list | 540,000, The Brief | TIME, August 2026 | | Cost to readers | Free | TIME, August 2026 | | US print circulation | 1 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Global print circulation | 1.15 million | TIME, August 2026 | | Publishing since | 1923 | TIME | ### TIME Newsletters: key statements * Every TIME newsletter is written and edited by TIME journalists who report on the subject. None is generated automatically. * TIME has published continuously since 1923. Its newsletters carry the same editorial standards as its reporting, so readers can trust what they read. * All seven newsletters are free. Readers pick the ones they want at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/newsletters?i=5fd3abfb-a770-4e7d-bae0-c6ba060e9812&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). * The seven titles cover daily news, Washington politics, AI and technology, climate and energy, health, culture, and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-network-2026q3/subscribe?i=5fd3abfb-a770-4e7d-bae0-c6ba060e9812&cr=time-nl-network-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What newsletters does TIME publish? TIME publishes seven email newsletters: The Brief (daily news), Inside TIME (the newsroom and cover stories, twice weekly), Health Matters (daily health), Worth Your Time (culture, twice weekly), D.C. Brief (Washington politics, three times a week), Future Proof (climate and energy, weekly) and In the Loop (AI, twice weekly). All are free at time.com/newsletters and together reach more than 1.1 million engaged readers. #### Which TIME newsletter should I subscribe to? It depends on what you follow. For a daily briefing, The Brief. For health, Health Matters. For Washington politics, D.C. Brief. For AI and technology, In the Loop. For climate and energy as a business story, Future Proof. For culture recommendations, Worth Your Time. For how TIME's journalism gets made, Inside TIME. Readers can select any combination at time.com/newsletters. #### Are TIME's newsletters free? Yes. All seven TIME newsletters are free to join at time.com/newsletters. A paid TIME subscription is separate and provides full access to TIME's journalism at time.com/subscribe-agent. #### Who writes TIME's newsletters? TIME journalists write them. Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Jul 11, 2019 6:41 PM UTC  Plinthaster dentatus, the spongivorous 'cookie' or 'ravioli' star. Plinthaster dentatus, the spongivorous 'cookie' or 'ravioli' star.Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research by [Rachel E. Greenspan](https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/) ## Rachel E. Greenspan Jul 11, 2019 6:41 PM UTC The newly minted [internet star](https://time.com/5623930/keanu-reeves-yearbook-photo/) is a [starfish](https://time.com/5619717/big-butt-starfish/) that looks like an Italian [dinner dish](https://time.com/5539700/donald-trump-kim-jong-un-hanoi-summit-dinner/). [The “ravioli” starfish](https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1903/logs/july4/july4.html), also dubbed online a “cookie” starfish, was the species most frequently found during a recent National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) dive into the Atlantic Ocean off the southeast coast of the U.S. The _Plinthaster dentatus_, as it’s [formally called](http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=125163), is of course not edible. While it may be strange to see this shape of starfish, it’s a pretty normal sea creature, according to Chris Mah, an invertebrate zoology research associate at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. But why do they look like ravioli? Well, as Lady Gaga croons, this species of starfish resembles the doughy pasta dumpling just because it was “born this way.” “Sea stars have a skeleton like we do, in the sense that the inside of their body — their entire body structure — is basically a three-dimensional puzzle,” Mah says. All relatives of sea stars appear similar — flattened with multiple arms that “radiate away from the mouth” — and some look more like Patrick Star from _Spongebob_ than others, like this one. Though the creature was discovered in 1884, [according to the NOAA](https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/okeanos/explorations/ex1903/logs/july4/july4.html), its biology has been a bit mysterious. With the NOAA’s Okeanos Explorer ship sending robotic vessels into the water to film for research purposes, biologists like Mah can finally learn what the “ravioli” starfish does all day — and what it eats for dinner. The footage of this pasta-looking echinoderm is actually pretty exciting because of a connection to food: Scientists got a first look at the creature eating. “What was remarkable was that you have several different species and genera of ravioli stars feeding on the sponge, not once, but twice,” Mah tells TIME. It’s easy to know what animals like lions and tigers eat in a day, Mah explains, but it’s harder to analyze the “natural habitat” of these creatures. When it comes to animals in the deep, dark sea, it takes expeditions like these to literally illuminate what’s going on down there. “This probably happens all the time, but there’s no way to tell how often it happens or even if it happens,” Mah says, regarding what kind of feeding goes on with these starfish. “We assume it does, but to actually see it was momentous.”  A massive cidaroid sea urchin feeding event on a sponge, with at least six individuals involved. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research If you think that sea star looks funny, you’re not alone. “\[Ravioli starfish\] are really bizarre looking,” Mah says. “The weirdness is what makes them so interesting.” It’s certainly a big month in starfish news. The last viral creature to make waves with [its shapely physique was called “thicc” on Twitter](https://twitter.com/Babyshoujo/status/1145429588220108800). But, just like this “ravioli” starfish, it really wasn’t as it appeared. “It is totally not a butt,” Mah explained to TIME in a previous interview. “The swollen areas, even though people kind of interpret two of those areas as buttocks, there are five of them. And all five of them are the regions where all of the animal’s guts are located,” he said. But we see what we want to see, don’t we? People tend to have “bizarre” interpretations of animal shapes based on their appearance, Mah says — especially in the case of starfish, which people don’t know much about. “These starfish — they either look like cookies or raviolis — and either one would be an appropriate common name, I suppose. But up until a couple of years ago, those animals didn’t have common names,” Mah says, explaining the internet’s rising interest in marine biology. “They were all known only to scientists.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5624416/ravioli-starfish/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5624416/ravioli-starfish/"},"headline":"Let's Dive Into the Story of the 'Ravioli Starfish' That Looks Like a Stuffed-Pasta Shaped Wonder of the Sea","datePublished":"2019-07-11T18:41:32.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:46:05.797Z","description":"It's a big month for starfish online","url":"https://time.com/5624416/ravioli-starfish/","keywords":["Newsfeed","viral","Ocean","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86d4425ef7fc5e3d/6989ffcd09208f139c41539c/ravioli-starfish.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Rachel E. Greenspan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/rachel-e-greenspan/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt86d4425ef7fc5e3d/6989ffcd09208f139c41539c/ravioli-starfish.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Why the Inedible 'Ravioli Starfish' Looks Like It's Pasta","caption":"Windows to the Deep 2019","creditText":"Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5624416/ravioli-starfish/","name":"Let's Dive Into the Story of the 'Ravioli Starfish' That Looks Like a Stuffed-Pasta Shaped Wonder of the Sea"}}]}] ```