Animal life in the sea and on the land . reat delight to watch these littlecreatures darting hither and thither, sinking and risingagain, or resting on their oars, according to their ownsweet will. Sometimes we could not see them at all, though weknew they were in the clear waterbefore us; then a flash of brightcolor appeared, and we followedtheir devious course by their glit-ter and sparkle. 15. Pleurobrachia,—One of thesecaptive ctenophora was smallerthan the others, and more nearlyspherical. It belonged to the spe-cies Pleurobrachia, which you willsee represented in Fig. 32. Thiswtfs our es
Animal life in the sea and on the land . reat delight to watch these littlecreatures darting hither and thither, sinking and risingagain, or resting on their oars, according to their ownsweet will. Sometimes we could not see them at all, though weknew they were in the clear waterbefore us; then a flash of brightcolor appeared, and we followedtheir devious course by their glit-ter and sparkle. 15. Pleurobrachia,—One of thesecaptive ctenophora was smallerthan the others, and more nearlyspherical. It belonged to the spe-cies Pleurobrachia, which you willsee represented in Fig. 32. Thiswtfs our especial favorite. At times it would throw out two long, slender tentacles, which wereornamented on one side with delicate tendrils. Uponsome sudden fancy of the animal these tentacles wereinstantly drawn in out of sight, while at the next momentthey were floating behind it for nearly half a yard. Onemight have supposed the exquisite creature was amusingitself by trying in how many different ways its tentaclescould be curved and twisted. Fiir. 32.—Pleurobrachia. 56 ANIMAL LIFE IN THE SEA AND ON THE LAND. IX. STAR-FISHES. SUB-KINGDOM, ECHINODERMATA : CLASS, ASTEROIDEA. 1. Favorite Haunts of the Star-fishes.—Those of youwho go to the sea-shore in summer have perhaps discov-ered that star-fishes like rocky coasts the best. They arefound most abundantly where the crevices between thestones afford good hiding-places for themselves and forthe animals upon which they feed. They do not thriveupon muddy or sandy bottoms, and boys and girls hunt-ing for curiosities upon such beaches are often disap-pointed to find no star-fishes. 2. They spend most of their time creeping over therocks, though they love to be where the tide will rippleover their bodies and keep them well supplied with sea-water, which they depend upon for their oxygen. Thosepoor, half-dead star-fishes which we sometimes see in apitiful condition on the beach will often revive if placedin sea-water, or, if left on the
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Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1880, booksubjectzoology, bookyear1887
