PART III

Starfish and sea star are names given to radially symmetrical, more or less star-shaped, bottom-dwelling animals found on the margins of almost all seas. They constitute the class Asteroidea of the phylum Echinodermata.… The body is more or less flattened, with the mouth located centrally on the underside. From the body project a number of radially arranged arms, usually 5.… Their power to regenerate missing arms is spectacular, some sea stars being able to re-form completely from as little original tissue as the mouth framework (see Regeneration). Where fishnets are left untended for any length of time, sea stars may move in and devour a large amount of the catch; they are also known to enter lobster pots and eat the bait. Sea stars are acceptable as food only to a few animals. For man they are utterly useless…

—Encyclopaedia Britannica