Marine researchers in British Columbia are both baffled and concerned after discovering that hundreds of thousands of starfish have disappeared in a very short time span.

Starfish, or sea stars, serve as one of the ocean’s many beautiful and miraculous species. Marine researchers in British Columbia are both baffled and concerned after discovering that hundreds of thousands of them have disappeared in a very short time span.

A researcher at the Vancouver Aquarium has been studying the dwindling population.

In Howe Sound, thousands of starfish have died since September of last year. The mysterious epidemic behind the die-off is extremely troubling because starfish abundantly populated the shores in and around northern Vancouver.

Scientists are referring to the epidemic as Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. Although numerous starfish specimens were collected for observation, they quickly and inexplicably decomposed in the lab.

This scenario is not just limited to one area either. Entire populations in Puget Sound and along the California coast have also disappeared. Their mortality rate is estimated to be about 95 percent.