A sea star (Asteroidea) has some real tricks up its…sleeves? Perhaps most bizarre is the way this echinoderm digests its food thanks to their unusual anatomy.

Sea stars:

🟠 Can ”evert” (turn inside-out) a portion of their stomach to capture prey and then pull it back into their body.

🟠 To digest their prey, such as mussels, sponges, and other small animals sea stars have hepatic caeca in their arms that release enzymes to help with digestion

🟠 Remove waste ammonia by diffusion through their feet and papulae (also called skin gills).

Thank you to πŸ‡¨πŸ‡¦ Catherine Cheung is a scientific and medical illustrator based in Toronto.

sea star

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