The sea creatures were discovered on Monday by people walking on a beach in Kirkcaldy.

Pictures posted on the account Fife Jammer Locations show what appears to be hundreds of starfish spread across the sand, rocks and walkway at the Kirkcaldy Promenade and Seafield Beach.

According to the person who pictured the starfish there was a “pile up” of “thousands” of them washed along the shoreline.

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“There seems to be a pileup of starfish at Kirkcaldy prom, literally thousands of dead starfish wtf,” they said. 

People were quick to reply to the post with their similar experiences and theories as to why the starfish washed a shore. 

One person wrote: “Happens around this time of year most years. 

“I think it’s to do with the temperature dropping. No marine biologist though.”

A second person added: “Are you sure they are dead, they can go into a comatose state until the tide comes back in.”

Meanwhile, a third person commented: “A lot will still be alive. “Strong currents would have disturbed them.”

A fourth said: “Possibly caused by the moon last night it can cause a whole host of issues with tide + marine animals.”

Although the incident has sparked a wide local debate whether they were alive or dead and what caused it, the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) said incidents like this are usually a “natural event”.

A spokesperson for SEPA told STV News: “From experience, if there are mass numbers of the same species, it’s usually a natural event, and this has happened with starfish before.”