CHAPTER XXXV 



STARFISH 



A TYPE OF THE PHYLUM ECHINODERMATA 



Starfishes are generally distributed along all marine coasts but are 

 much more abundant where the shore is rocky than where it is composed 

 of sand or mud, for they can make little headway on a bottom which is 

 soft and yielding. They are also found clinging to piers, piling, and other 

 solid objects in the water which offer firm attachment. Along the shores 





■epon'fe 



Fig. 101. 



-Aboral surface of a starfish, Asterias vulgaris Verrill. 



X 1^' 



From a preserved 



specimen. 



^2- 



of Puget Sound, where conditions are very favorable and where starfishes 

 become exceedingly abundant, the rocks at low tides are often closely 

 sprinkled with them. In certain places a bushel basket may be filled 

 with those which have gathered under a large boulder, where they are 

 protected from the direct rays of the sun and therefore do not suffer 

 greatly from drying. They usually remain quiet in the daytime. When 

 clinging they adhere closely and it sometimes requires considerable force 

 to dislodge them, the tube feet being torn in the effort. 



191 



