154 THE WORLD OF THE SEA. 
has a sufficient number attached, the animal turns itself round. 
It is believed that these organs also play no inconsiderable part 
in the process of respiration ; even during times of seeming repose, 
currents of corpuscles are seen traversing them. 
The mouth of a star-fish opens immediately into the stomach, 
which is a large sack, from which a chamber passes into each arm. 
These prolongations of the stomach are a kind of intestines. 
These animals are very voracious. They engulf their prey 
while still living, in a single morsel. When the victim is too large 
EQUESTRIAN STAR-FISH. 
(Gontastcer equestris.) 
for the mouth, the stomach inverts itself upon it. In all other 
animals the lips are the receivers of the food for the stomach; 
but here the stomach itself takes the food. The star-fish can eat 
even oysters. This appears at first sight impossible, for the mouth 
of the star-fish is but small, and an oyster is a considerable size. 
But according to Professor Rymer Jones, they seize the oyster 
by their rays, holding it by means of their suckers; they then 
invert their stomach, which entirely enfolds the unhappy mollusk ; 
from the pores of the stomach there seems to exude a poisonous 
liquid; the oyster by this means is forced to open its shell, and 
thus becomes ain easy prey to its captor. 
The asterias play an important part as the scavengers of the 
sea. They love all kinds of dead flesh, and show a wondrous 
activity in discovering and devouring it. This necessary work of 
