Life Beneath the Waves. 75 



which they are enabled to cling tightly to 

 slippery rocks and stones. The mouth and 

 stomach of the Starfish are situated in the 

 middle of its disc or body. " Small as the 

 mouth of a Starfish appears to be," says a 

 writer on this subject, " small as is its sto- 

 mach, and feeble as are its muscular powers, 

 it can swallow a bivalve mollusc entire, or, if 

 needful, open it and suck out the contents 

 in some mysterious way, a feat that no 

 man could accomplish without tools. . . . 

 The ancient naturalists were well aware," 

 continues this writer, "that the Starfish 

 possessed the power of eating oysters, but 

 they thought that the creature accom- 

 plished its design by watching until an 

 oyster opened its shell, and then poking 

 one of its rays between the shells as a 

 wedge then, having gained a partial 

 admission, it slowly insinuated itself, and 



