64 STARFISHES 



found on the under sides of rocks, feeding upon various organisms 

 attached thereto. It is quite a small Starfish, a large specimen 

 rarely exceeding an inch across the body. In shape it is like a tiny, 

 five-cornered cushion, for the rays are quite short and blunt, 

 with very narrow and deep ambulacral grooves. The colour 

 varies a good deal, generally of a greenish-yellow hue ; it may be 

 tinged with red or brown. A most extraordinary cushion Star is 

 the Bird's-foot Sea-Star (Palmipes membranaceus), which looks 

 almost like the webbed foot of some sea bird, it is so thin, flat, and 

 flexible. Though rare as a shore specimen, it is by no means un- 

 common in deep water near the coast, and is frequently brought 

 up in the dredge. It attains to some 5 or 6 inches in diameter. 



The Butthorn Starfish (Astropecten inegularis) and the Ling- 

 thorn (Luidia fragilissima) are two very interesting Starfishes 

 belonging to a family the members of which have their tube-feet 

 destitute of suckers, and have no anus. The loss of suckers renders 

 it impossible for the Butthorn Starfish to climb over the rocks, 

 or to force open the valves of shell-fish like the ordinary Star- 

 fish ; but by means of its pointed tube-feet it can move rapidly 

 over the hard, smooth surface of the sand, where it lives, and as 

 it has a wide and capacious mouth, it simply swallows its victims 

 whole. The Lingthorn has long, flat, and rather slender rays, 

 from five to seven in number. Of its tiresome propensity to 

 break up voluntarily into fragments, making it a most difficult 

 specimen to collect in a perfect condition, Professor Forbes 

 gives the following amusing account : " The first time I ever 

 took one of these creatures I succeeded in getting it into the 

 boat entire. Never having seen one before, and quite unconscious 

 of its suicidal powers, I spread it out on a rowing bench, 

 the better to admire its form and colours. On attempting 

 to remove it for preservation, to my horror and disappointment 

 I found only an assemblage of rejected members. My conservative 

 endeavours were all neutralised by its destructive exertions, 

 and it is now badly represented in my cabinet by an arm- 

 less disk and a diskless arm. Next time I went to dredge on the 

 same spot, determined not to be cheated out of a specimen in 

 such a way a second time, I brought with me a bucket of cold 

 fresh water, to which article Starfishes have a great antipathy. As 

 I expected, a Luidia came up in the dredge, a most gorgeous 



