We have some new additions to our touch tank in Portsmouth at the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company dock, 315 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH. Two new sea stars have made the tank their temporary home.
Sea stars, formerly known as starfish, are echinoderms which means "spiny skin." Their skin is rough and often feels like sandpaper. Beyond being beautiful animals that come in many colors and shapes, sea stars have amazing abilities. For example, have you ever touched a sea star that felt stiff or rigid? Or have you have felt a sea star that was limp? It's not the case that some sea stars are rigid and some are stiff, but instead sea stars are able to make their bodies rigid or limp! Don't believe me? Follow the link below to watch a short video from Creaturecast.org which explains this amazing ability is a few more details with the help of Harry Houdini.
Creature Cast: Echinoderm Skin
This is how echinoderms are able to drop one of their limbs if they are being threatened or trapped by a predator. As it shows in the video link above, sea stars are then able to regenerate or regrow new limbs! Even more amazing, those limbs that they lost will regenerate or grow new bodies!
Come down to the Portsmouth touch tank at the Isles of Shoals Steamship Company dock or visit us at the Blue Ocean Discovery Center in Hampton, NH to learn more about these amazing creatures!
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