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Starfish Printable Page Only on KBears.com, by the Knowledge Bears! |
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Show me these great marine animals:
Dolphin |
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Starfish Starfish have calcium rich endoskeletons made up of individual plates called ossicles. The starfish usually hunts for shelled animals like oysters and clams. They have two stomachs. One stomach is used for digestion, and the other stomach can be extended outward to engulf and digest prey. This feature allows the starfish to hunt prey that is much larger than its mouth would otherwise allow. Another cool feature of starfish is that they are able to regenerate lost arms. A new starfish may be regenerated from a single arm attached to a portion of the central disk. Their shapes differ from fat to thin, and their skin can be spiny, rough, soft, smooth, or bumpy. Starfish come in several colors: red, orange, yellow, green, and blue. Most have the ability to change colors to camouflage themselves from other enemies. Each sea star has hundreds of tiny tubes on the bottom of each ray that they use as feet. Since the vascular system of the sea star is controlled by sea water, the starfish moves by pushing water from their vascular system into the tiny tubes. They can make a tube move by expanding and retracting it (making it open up and close). This is how starfish move around the ocean floor. Notes: IMPORTANT:
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