The matrix of ossicles on a sea star surface is riddled with holes that can be easily seen in this view. You can see the skin gills sticking out as a kind of fuzzy blur on the left of the photograph. In most sea stars, the flat ossicles can move in relation to one another, so the animal can bend its arms. If turned upside down, a sea star can right itself by flexing its arms - rotating the tips of one or more arms so that the tube feet can grasp the sea floor. This material may be copied for use in student classroom projects and reports.
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