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A SPORTS CAR WITHOUT THE TRAFFIC.
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BEADED SEA STAR
INTERESTING
INVERTEBRATES
• Echinoderms, radially symmetrical
invertebrates like purple sea urchins,
beaded sea stars, crinoids and sea
cucumbers (also known as sea slugs),
play important roles in their saltwater
ecosystem. As scavengers, echinoderms
eat decaying matter and small organisms,
thus helping to regulate their numbers.
• Urchins are gardeners of the reef
and graze on fast-growing algae.
• Sea stars are true carnivores, eating
mostly shelled creatures. They wrap
themselves around prey, using their
tube feet to open the shell. From there,
they wrap their stomachs around the
meat inside to devour it.
• Sea cucumbers feed on waste mate-rials,
digging through the sediment
for organic matter and particles. This
also kicks up loose food and nutrients
that are usable by nearby plants and
organisms.
• Feather-like arms coated with sticky
mucus on crinoids filter small food
particles from the water.
Opposite: An urchin’s teeth and spines
can drill through steel pilings, flaking
away the rust coating. Sea cucumbers
can mutilate their own bodies as a
defense mechanism. They contract
their muscles and hurl some of their
internal organs out of their anus.
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