ECHINODERMATA. 261 



The star-fish has five perfectly equal arms. They resemble a cross 

 of honour, which has five branches. The star of the 'brave, the 

 star of honour these somewhat trivial words recall, nevertheless, the 

 resemblance which exists between the two objects ; doubtless, man has 

 here taken Nature for his copy. It must, however, be remarked that, 

 though five is the general number of lines in the star-fish, this number 

 is not constant ; it varies with different genera, species, and even with 



Fig. 105. A storias rubens (Lamarck). 



individuals. The connection of the arms with the disk presents 

 equally remarkable differences. In the genus Culcita, the disk is so 

 much developed that it constitutes, so to speak, the entire animal, 

 whilst the arms form only a slight protuberance upon its circumference. 

 In the genera Luidia, on the contrary, the disk is reduced to minimum, 

 whilst the arms are of great length and very slender. 



The colours of the star-fish vary greatly; they vary from a 

 yellowish-grey, a yellow-orange, a garnet-red, to a dark violet, as 

 their name indicates. 



