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Starfish
Mercer Bay: Starfish
These are sun stars, also known as reef stars, Stichaster australis, or patangaroa. They start out browsing on seaweed but then prodress to eating shellfish by wrapping themselves around their prey, levering open the shell and etruding their stomach inside out onto their prey. Starfish are supposedly about 90% water and up to 6 or 8% chalk.

August 2002