The Cambria freeman. [volume] (Ebensburg, Pa.) 1867-1938, 1891-08-21
A COMPLEX CREATURE.
Some of the Remarkable Traits of II
Sfargish.


Some of the Remarkable Traits of the
Sfarlish-
''The attack of a starfish upon al
oyster may be Hkened TO an assault by
organized conspirators, inasmuch as
each of these five-fingered animals Is
composed of five distinct individuals"
said scientist to Washington Star
man. Each of the starfish's five arms
has its own mind, nervous system and
thoughts, such as they are, and all five
nerve systems simply meet in the cen
ter where the arms are Joined. Thus it
may be said that the mental guidance
of tins complex creature and the man
agemcnt of its affairs are intrusted TO
board of five members. who have COM
munication with each other, but act
without the intermediation of a pre-
siding officer. Now, is il not wonder
full that such a quintet should be able
to manage its affairs so well and with
such agreement of purpose in every
thing? Supposing that each of the
five individuals attempted to go where
it listed without giving any heed to the
others, the animal could not reach
choice bit of food, espied from afar
with the eye of one of its members, nor
in view. But as a matter of fact,
proved by observation, when a starfish
is spying for food it lifts the end OF its
five arms so that the eye beneath each
extremity may get a view of things in
the neighborhood, and IL any object
worth going after is discovered all the
many hundreds of sucker-lilze feet
beneath the five arms are seen to push
\
morsel desired. There is unity Of in
tention among the partners that inn
plies Enthusiastically conscious sharing
of aim and design. The same thing il
shown by the way many starfishcs have
of letting themselves drop from steep
rocks and cliffs in order to save the
trouble of laborious climbing down. In
such cases, before they relinquish
their hold and drop. they let go with
three or four arms, holding fast until
:hc last moment with the remaining, as
If To calculate the leap.
MY observations on this subject
have inclined me to think that matters
of concerted action with starfish have
not infrequently TO be effected by first
obtaining the assent of an individual
ray that Is willing. 1t is known that
these creatures sometimes divide them
selves voluntarily into Il three-armcd
and n two-armed portion, which may
he regarded rs the violent dissolution
of business and domestic relations once
happy, but grown inharmonious. A
starfish will often cast off one Of its
arms and leave it behind, perhaps be-
cause the member is not found agree
able to live with. II rubber band or
string Is fastened around an arm of one
of these animals and it cannot push the
annoyance off with its other arms the
starfish will throw the troublesome
arm away, not desiring to retain the
companionship of such cripple. Star
fish are like human beings in many
ways Then the animal which has
thus deprived itself of ray grows a
new one in place of the old
"As for the arm that is dropped il
promptly proceeds to grow four new
arms, thus becoming "a whole starfish
itself. Being the biggest il is pre-
sumably for n long time the boss of the
five, which must be gratifying. A few
years ago people who caught starfish in
in the oyster beds destroyed them, rs
they thought, by cutting them in halves
and throwing them overheard, but the
process was not very effective, mas
much as everyone thus treated prompt
ly becomes two"