ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE 75 



them back into the water. It is now known that by bo 

 doing they were but increasing the number of starfish, for 

 starfish have the power to re-grow the parts broken orf\ 

 Each complete arm could reproduce an entire starfish. 

 This power to restore lost parts is known as regeneration 

 (re-jen-er-a'shun). Many of the lower animals have this 

 power to a marked degree, and all animals have it to 

 some degree. 



SUMMARY 



The starfish group of animals is known by the presence 

 of spines in the skin and a radial arrangement of the 

 organs. Their chief economic relation to man consists in 

 their great destructiveness to the oyster and clam beds. 



QUESTIONS 



Why are starfish so-called? How can they be distinguished from 

 other animals ? How do they move ? Where do they live ? On what 

 do they feed ? How do they breathe ? 



REFERENCES 



Brooks, The Oyster. 



Osborne, Economic Zoology, Chapter VIII. 



Poulton, All About the Oyster. 



