Starfish Dissection:
Today we did another dissection! This time we dissected a Starfish!
Front/Top View (a.k.a. Aboral Surface)
Back/Bottom View (a.k.a. Oral Surface)
As you can see, the starfish has a red/brown colour to it and has 5 radial arms. It is more or less symmetrical and it's texture is quite rough. It is rough only on the top while the bottom is much more smooth because of it's tube feet.
That little spot is called the Madreporite and it is where the starfish intakes water for daily survival.
In this photo, you can take a closer look at the Starfish's mouth and Tube Feet (which is used for movement)
Once we cut open 1 radial arm we can see that it consists of many different things such as the Pyloric Caeca and the Ampulla. The Pyloric Caeca produces digestive glands, while the Ampulla are part of the Water Vascular System.
Also in the radial arms, are where the Gonads are located which are used for reproduction purposes.
Right in the middle is where the Cardiac Stomach is located and is pretty much the most important organ for a starfish. If this parts gets damaged, the starfish has a pretty low chance of survival! But if you cut of an arm and it consists of a gonad, then that arm will grow back and the arm that came off will grow a new starfish!
Conclusion:
When I was doing this Lab, I was really surprised to see that the arms were filled with much more complex things instead of just basic muscle tissue! Also another question I have a bout Starfish are How long is the life of an Average Starfish.
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