Starfish Appear to Be Among the Longest-Living Organisms On Earth According to a study published in a journal called Biology Letters, Cantabrigiaster fezouataensis, the species discovered by the researchers in Morocco, is adjudged to be the earliest starfish-like animal. One of the paper's authors and Evolutionary palaeoecologist of Cambridge University, Dr. Aaron Hunter, stated that finding the missing link between the modern-day starfish and their ancestors is very exciting. He added that if they went back in time and could see under the sea in the Ordovician, no one would be able to recognize any marine creature except the starfish, making them one of the first modern-day animals.