SUCKERS OF STAR-FISHES. 329 
the star-fish is motionless; for, offended by the rough handling 
it has undergone, the feet have all shrunk into the body; but 
soon they are seen to emerge like so many little worms from 
Star-Fish, 
. 
The upper tuberculated surface is shown, with some of the spines of the under surface 
projecting at the sides of the rays. At one of the angles between the rays, on the right 
side, is seen the eccentric calcareous plate, or madreporic tubercle, which indicates the 
existence of a bilateral symmetry. 
their holes, and to grope backwards and forwards through the 
water, evidently seeking the nearest ground to lay hold of. 
Those that reach it first immediately affix their suckers, and, by 
contracting, draw a portion of the body after them, so as to 
enable others to attach themselves, until, pulley being added 
to pulley, their united power is sufficient to restore the star-fish 
to its natural position. 
This act of volition is surely remarkable enough in so simple 
an animal, which scarcely possesses the rudiments of a nervous 
system, but the simple mechanism by which the suckers are 
put into motion is still mere wonderful. Each of these little 
organs is tubular, and connected with a globular vesicle filled 
with an aqueous fluid, and contained within the body of the 
star-fish immediately beneath the hole from which the sucker 
