158 THE WORLD OF THE SEA. 
to make the repast of the animal. The visceral cavity is abso- 
lutely limited to the disc which forms the body; it does not 
extend into the arms, as is the case in other star-fish, When 
an ophiura is put into water which is not fit for its habitation, 
one by one, the arms drop off, until nothing remains but the disc ; 
and still the creature lives, and eats with avidity. 
About the beginning of April the sides of the disc puff out, 
and the intermediate spaces between the rays become filled with 
ASTROPHYTON VERRUCOSUM. 
spawn. The eggs are ovoid and of a bright red. Towards the 
end of August, or the beginning of September, the young appear. 
At the moment of their birth they are nearly microscopic, almost 
transparent, and slightly green. Their shape is curious; they 
have been not inaptly likened to a painter’s easel. The upper 
part of the body is conical. The lower part is divided into 
eight prolongations, disposed in two divergent groups. These 
prolongations are covered with cilia, and towards their extremities 
are slightly orange. Each is upheld by a little calcareous sup- 
port. These singular larve have been described under the name 
of Pluteus paradoxrus. 
