ECHINODERMS 65 



whip lashes or be so broad and blunted as to give the 

 creature an almost circular outline. 



Starfishes like many invertebrates have the capacity 

 to reproduce lost portions highly developed. A single 

 arm torn from a living starfish soon grows four more like 





w.r.b 



K»9 

 m 



Immi 



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sr 



Starfish (Asterias) 



itself, and whilst these are still much shorter than the 

 original the animal is then said to be in the comet stage. 

 Oyster fishermen, who justly hate the starfish for its ravages 

 on their beds, once used to tear the animal into pieces, 

 throwing them overside — a procedure which had the 

 effect of increasing the pest rather than eliminating it. 

 The young or larval starfish — very unlike the parent 



