
246 A STROLL BY THE SEA-SIDE. 
























Having selected one for his meal, our starfish arches his he 
over the shell, grasping it at the same time with its am 
and then, marvellous to relate, puts its stomach out ofi 
mouth and enfolds the shell with its lobes. Whether th 
stomach secretes a poisonous fluid is not known, at any mie 
the victim dies under the effects of this warm embrace, i 
‘shell flies open, and the starfish devours its contents. 
In the young starfish the eyes can be plainly seen, five! 
number, one at the ‘end of each ray or arm, shining” 
little garnets. In the older ones it is quite difficult to 
tinguish them. ee p s 
The starfish often loses one or more of its rays” 
having them bitten off by hungry fishes, or perhaps- 
off by crabs when young. Nature, however, restores thet 
again, for new rays bud in the place of those lost, and it ® 
not uncommon to find specimens that have lost all 
one ray, with the four new rays just commencing to 
Others may be found with three large ones, and twos 
ones, and a variety of forms, resulting from this renovi 
power after mutilation, may be gathered among the 1 
Another curious starfish, called the brittle starfish ( 
fig. 12), is found in the pools at extreme low-water mark. 
takes its name from the fact that it is extremely brittle, ‘ 
arms fulling to pieces when roughly handled. In 
cies the arms appear quite independent of the disk, 
merging into it as the species previously described. ; 
arms, moreover, have greater freedom of motion. | 
they have no true suckers, the arms are covered Wi 
and, having great mobility, they twist and turn ja; 
direction, and are quite active when compared to the 
mon “five finger.” 
We have referred to their brittle nature, but anot 
cies, belonging to the same family, occurring OR the 
coast, has for its Specific name “fragilissima,” on 
its extreme fragility. Edward Forbes has giver t 
account of his endeavors to capture this species, and v 
