THE HAUNTS OF LIFE 



67 



Fig. 21. — Free-swimming pelagic larval starfish — ^the Bipinnaria of 

 Luidla — enormously enlarged, showing transparent larval body (a) 

 with curious processes, and the young starfish (b) being formed. 

 {After Mcintosh.) 



animal. Or is it a qmte secondary new departure on the 

 part of what one may call autochthonous shore animals, 

 this getting their young into a relatively safer area ? Is 

 it similar to the case of the aquatic habit of the larvae of 

 many insects, such as gnats and mayflies, which is believed 

 to be quite secondary ? There is most to be said for the 

 view that the pelagic phase of some shore-animals is 

 secondary. The larvae are often highly speciahzed in 

 relation to open-sea life, and not the least like ancestral 

 forms. In certaiu cases the first view may be enter- 

 tained. 



Parental Care. — Returning to the avoidance of infantile 

 mortality, another method of life-saving is to increase 

 parental care and nurture ; and the shore is rich in illus- 



