Telegram-herald. ([Grand Rapids, Mich.) 18??-1892, 1891-09-03
A SINGULAR FISH.
eeus etiAtng pscul1aritiss q tAs
Staxf1ah-
= uss ne Power al Dividing late 49,
tsas. I'D EsSh Part VIII Begin
hsv xxisteaes On Its ova
AseUuaG

The attack 81 . starash upon an ovs-
Ger may b hksned % IN sassult by or
gained eons2irators. inasmuch ss
each of these 6ve-Hngered animals is
composed Of Eve distinct individuals
says the Washtngson Star. Each of the
stsrAsh's Eve arus has its own mind,
nssvoca system and thoughts such a.
they ere. and ali I've nerve systems sim
ply meet Ia thu center. where the arrns
are joined Thus il may b said that
the mental guidance Of this complex
creature and the management Of its af-
fairs are tnsrs,sssa 70 . board IT Eve
members. who have communication
with essh othAr, bat at without the In
tsrmsdiatisa Of . presiding oHiesr.
Now. II IL not wonderful that such
quintet should Be able 70 manage It's
affairs 30 well and with such agreement
Ct purpose IN everything? 6upposing
that each Of the Ave individuals at
tempted to 60 where il listed without
giving any heed TO the others. the ami
NAL could not reach choice bit Of food.
copied from afar with the eye Of one OF
tts members nor travel In any direction
with purpose In view.
But. "a . matter Of fact proved By OBJ
servation, when . starfish u spying
after food II lifts tho ends Of its ave
arms 30 that the eye beneath each ex-
tremity may get q view of things In tho
neighborhood. and II any object worth
going after is discovered all tho many
hundreds Of sucker-liks feet between
the five arms are seen to push out to-
gether in the direction OF the morsel
desired.
There % Q unit Of intention among
the partners that implies unmistslxably
. conscious-sharing aim and design.
The Same thing Is shown by the way
many stardshes have of letting them
selves drop from steep rocks and cliffs.
In order 70 save the trouble Of laborious
climbing down. In such cases. before
they relinquish their hold and drop.
they let 20 with three or four armA
holding fast until tho last moment
with the remaining. Is Il to calculate
the leap
Ny observations on this subject have
inclined mo to think that matters ofoon-
certed action with starfsh have not in
frequently to be affected By first OBJ
tanning the assent of IN individual ray
that u willing. Il 10 known that these
creatures sometimes divide themselves
Voluntarily into three-armed and two
armed portion, which may b regarded
a the violent dissolution Of business
and domestic relations once happy. but
nuvn fuharmonious. A starAsh viii
often cast OF one Of its arms and leave
II behind perhaps because tho member
u not found agreeable TO live with.
ia rubber band or . string Il fas-
toned around an arm of ono Of these
animals and Il can not push tho annoy
snes 81 with IT. other arm. tho starash
Win throw tho troublesome arm away.
mot desiring - retain the cempanion-
ship Of such . cripple. Star6sh are
IKE human beings In many way& Than
The animal, which has thus deprived IT.
self Of ray. grows . new one IN place
Of the old
Al for the arm that = dropped -
promptly proceeds to grow four new
arma, thus becoming . whole stsrash
itsslf. Being tho biggest It Is pro
sumably for . long time the boos OF the
ave. which must be gratifying. A few
years ago people who caught stax6sh In
The cysSsr BEDS destroyed them, - they
thought BY cutting them in halves and
throwing them overheard. but the proe.
60 vas not very effective. inasmuch -
every ono thus treated promptly be-
came two.