It's very scenic; the kind of photograph I wish I could take. And it has a starfish in the foreground - which is a misnomer really, because it's something called an echinoderm which marine biologists call 'sea stars' rather than starfish.
Sea stars seem to have evolved into this shape from the usual arms and legs shape - and even though they look symmetrical, they have some exhibit a superficially radial symmetry.
They typically have five superficial remnant of the 'bilateral' body structure, which can be detected when they are in larval form.
Sea stars do not rely on a jointed, movable skeleton for support and locomotion like we do (although they are protected by their skeleton which is more like a disk).
Instead, they have a hydraulic water vascular system that moves water through their arteries to help them move around.
Little tube feet on each of the sea star's arms are moved and contracted to permit locomotion and aid with feeding.
Sea stars usually hunt for shelled animals such as oysters and clams - but how they do it is quite weird.
They have two stomachs. One stomach is used for digestion, and the second stomach can be extended outward to engulf and digest prey.
This feature allows the sea star to hunt prey that is much larger than its mouth would otherwise allow.
Another interesting thing that would have helped Luke Skywalker is the sea star's ability to regenerate lost arms.
If you can believe this, AN ENTIRELY NEW SEA STAR may be regenerated from a single arm attached to a portion of the central disk.
So, yes, the scene you posted is very pretty - but the sea star in it is pretty amazing!
I type too fast. The second paragraph above is supposed to say that, even though sea stars look perfectly star-shaped, they actually have body features which suggest that they weren't always like that. I can't correct my terrible typing in Comments - so I apologise if it is confusing.
It's very scenic; the kind of photograph I wish I could take. And it has a starfish in the foreground - which is a misnomer really, because it's something called an echinoderm which marine biologists call 'sea stars' rather than starfish.
ReplyDeleteSea stars seem to have evolved into this shape from the usual arms and legs shape - and even though they look symmetrical, they have some exhibit a superficially radial symmetry.
They typically have five superficial remnant of the 'bilateral' body structure, which can be detected when they are in larval form.
Sea stars do not rely on a jointed, movable skeleton for support and locomotion like we do (although they are protected by their skeleton which is more like a disk).
Instead, they have a hydraulic water vascular system that moves water through their arteries to help them move around.
Little tube feet on each of the sea star's arms are moved and contracted to permit locomotion and aid with feeding.
Sea stars usually hunt for shelled animals such as oysters and clams - but how they do it is quite weird.
They have two stomachs. One stomach is used for digestion, and the second stomach can be extended outward to engulf and digest prey.
This feature allows the sea star to hunt prey that is much larger than its mouth would otherwise allow.
Another interesting thing that would have helped Luke Skywalker is the sea star's ability to regenerate lost arms.
If you can believe this, AN ENTIRELY NEW SEA STAR may be regenerated from a single arm attached to a portion of the central disk.
So, yes, the scene you posted is very pretty - but the sea star in it is pretty amazing!
I type too fast. The second paragraph above is supposed to say that, even though sea stars look perfectly star-shaped, they actually have body features which suggest that they weren't always like that. I can't correct my terrible typing in Comments - so I apologise if it is confusing.
ReplyDeleteCool photo, Sam.
ReplyDelete