Chinese pinyin: h m: I x: ng

Starfish is a kind of echinoderms, divided into two families: petrel and starfish, but it is commonly known as starfish or "star fish".

Starfish are mainly distributed in shallow seabed sand or rocks all over the world, and we are no strangers to it. However, we know little about its ecology. Starfish doesn't look like an animal, and from its appearance and slow movement, it is hard to imagine that starfish is a greedy carnivore, which plays an unusually important role in marine ecosystem and biological evolution. This is why it is widely distributed in the world.

Also translated as star fish; Also known as starfish. Echinoderma (Echinoderma): A general term for marine invertebrates of the class Starfish, not fish. Flat and star. Wrist. There are 1 1,800 species in existence, distributed in various oceans, with the most species in the North Pacific. Radial diameter 1? 65 cm, mostly 20? 30 cm (8? 12 inch). The wrist is hollow and covered with short thorns and forked thorns; There are rows of pipe legs (some with suction cups at the ends) in the ditch below, so that starfish can crawl in any direction and even climb up the steep surface. Lower starfish feed on food particles along the entrance of wrist groove. Higher kinds of stomachs can be turned upside down as bait for in vitro digestion or swallowed whole. The endoskeleton consists of calcareous bone plates. Breathe through the skin. There is a bright spot on the wrist. Most of them are hermaphroditic, and a few are hermaphroditic; Some are asexual.

Phenotypic species have obvious marginal plates, sucker at the bottom of the tube, and may not have anus. Including most deep-sea species, such as albatross richardi, which was found at a depth of 6035 meters (19800 feet). The radial diameter of the mud starfish (Ctenodiscus crispatus) is about 10 cm, the wrist is short and blunt, the body plate is wide and yellow, and it is abundant in the mud bottom along the northern coast. Northern genera, such as Astropecten, Psilaster and Luidia, have long and sharp wrists with thorns on the edges. The largest reticular starfish in the West Indies has a radial diameter of about 50 cm (20 inches). Lin Kia, mostly found in the Indian Ocean-Pacific Ocean, can grow into a new individual from a small wrist.

There are small thorns with cluster thorns, and there are suction cups at the bottom of the tube, but there are few forked thorns. Asterina gibbosa is a common camel petrel on the rocky seabed in Europe. In the north, the genera Crossaster and Solaster have many short wrists and wide body plates. Crossaster papposus has 15 wrist. Polypodactyls have long-handled forked spines with two petals, which can protect or feed. Common species that feed on bivalves in shallow water include the Red Sea Star distributed in Northern Europe and the Heilongjiang Starfish from Bering Sea to Korean Peninsula. Pisaster brevispinus on the west coast of North America is 65 cm (26 inches) long and is one of the largest starfish in the world, feeding on sand money sea urchins and so on. There are 15 sunflower trays from Alaska to California. 24 wrists. Heliaster in China and the United States has as many as 50 wrists.

Looking for food

It is generally believed that sharks are fierce carnivores in the ocean. Who would have thought that the starfish, which lives on the sand or rocks at the bottom of the sea, is also a carnivore! But that's the truth. Because starfish can't move as flexibly and quickly as sharks, its main prey are some slow-moving marine animals, such as shellfish, sea urchins, crabs and anemones. It often adopts a slow and tortuous strategy, slowly approaching the prey, grasping the prey with the tube foot on the wrist and wrapping it all over, spitting out the stomach bag from the mouth, dissolving the prey in vitro with digestive enzymes and being absorbed by it.

We know that starfish is an indispensable link in the marine food chain. Its predation plays an important role in maintaining the balance of biota. For example, on the west coast of the United States, there is a spiny starfish, which often preys on sea rainbow (vegetables) densely covered on rocks. This can prevent the sea rainbow from over-breeding, prevent the sea rainbow from invading the territory of other creatures, and thus maintain the balance of biota. There are about 2000 species of starfish in the world, which are distributed in a vast territory from the ocean to the seabed. Among them, the northeast Pacific Ocean from Alaska to California has the most species.

Starfish, sea cucumbers and sea urchins belong to echinoderms. They usually have five wrists, but there are also four or six, and some have as many as 40 wrists. There are four rows of pins under these wrists. Using pins can not only catch prey, but also let yourself climb on rocks. Sea star has thousands of tube feet. Starfish's mouth is in the middle of its lower body, which can directly contact the surface of the object that starfish has climbed. Starfish vary in size, ranging from 2.5 cm to 90 cm, and their body colors are different. Almost every one is different. The most common colors are orange, red, purple, yellow and cyan.

In the natural food chain, the contest between predator and prey is often life and death. In order to escape from starfish, almost all prey animals will make an escape response. There is a big sea cucumber. Whenever the starfish touches it, it will roll violently in the water and run away before it is firmly caught by the starfish. Scallops also have unique skills in avoiding starfish. When the starfish approaches it, scallops will swim quickly one after another. There is a little anemone. Whenever the starfish approaches it, it will break away from the climbing rock and drift to a safe place. The ability of these animals to escape comes from long-term evolution. Avoid the fate of being eliminated by nature.

Although starfish are fierce predators, they are gentle to their offspring. Starfish often erect their wrists to form an umbrella after laying eggs, so that the eggs can hatch in it to avoid being preyed by other animals. The hatched larvae drift with the sea water and feed on plankton, and finally grow into starfish.

Starfish feed on shellfish. When starfish want to eat mussels, they will first open their shells with powerful suction cups, and then stick out their stomachs to eat mussels. Therefore, the economic value of starfish is not great, and it can only be dried and ground into powder for agricultural fertilizer. Because it preys on shellfish, it is very harmful to shellfish culture.

type

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Starfish are echinoderms that live in the sea. They have strong reproductive ability. There are about 1500 species of starfish in the world, most of which are propagated by in vitro fertilization without mating. The male starfish has a pair of testicles on each wrist. They excrete a lot of sperm into the water, and females also excrete thousands of eggs through the ovaries on both sides of their wrists. Sperm and egg meet in water, complete fertilization and form new life. From fertilized eggs, larvae, that is, small starfish, are born.

Some researchers have found that some starfish have the habit of seasonal pairing, that is, the male starfish lies on top of the female starfish, with five wrists staggered. This behavior is considered to be related to reproduction, but its true function has not been confirmed.

In addition, starfish has a special ability-regeneration. Starfish can regenerate naturally after their wrists and body plates are damaged or cut by themselves. Any part of a starfish can be regenerated into a new starfish. Therefore, some kinds of starfish have evolved the ability of asexual reproduction through this super-regeneration method, without mating. But most starfish usually don't reproduce asexually.

officinal

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[Drug Name] Starfish

"alias" starship and pentagram

[Latin Name] Northeast Starfish

The "source" is the dried whole grass of Polygonum hydropiper, a Polygonaceae animal.

"ingredients" contain starfish saponins a and B.

"Efficacy" calms the nerves, flattens the stomach and relieves pain, and thickens the intestines to stop diarrhea.

Indications: acute and chronic convulsion, tetanus, epilepsy, epigastric pain, acid regurgitation, diarrhea and gastric ulcer.

"Sexual taste returning to the meridian" is bitter, salty and flat. Heart, stomach and large intestine.

[Usage and dosage] Take it by decocting, 5- 10g.

Animal and plant resources are distributed in coastal areas of Liaoning, Hebei and Shandong.

"Collection and storage of medicinal materials" was captured in summer and autumn. It can be salvaged, washed and dried at the bottom of sand, mud, rocks or broken shells in intertidal zone.

Textual research was first published in China Journal of Medicinal Animals.

Medicinal value of starfish

The medicinal value of starfish is greater than its edible value. Dried starfish sold in the market are generally used as medicinal materials for stews.

In fact, starfish have little meat and basically no edible value. People often use male starfish to make soup to supplement their health. If they really want to eat, they can take the eggs (starfish seeds) of female starfish. "Autumn wind, mother starfish will be ready to lay eggs. At this time, the seeds of female starfish will stick to the abdomen like petals, and the color is light brown, which looks like ordinary fish eggs. 」

There are two kinds of starfish dishes cooked by Quan Ji. One is to make soup, and the other is to fry starfish seeds with egg whites, scallops and fresh shrimp, fry them into "running crabs" and brew them back into starfish shells. It seems that this dish looks exquisite. Although starfish seeds are inconspicuous, they can taste their sweet and soft texture, which is used to match fresh and sweet ribbons and slippery proteins. The three flavors are very sandwich.

Attached:

Medicinal and Nutritional Value of Starfish (Starfish)

Echinoderm is a general term for starfish. The body is flat and most of them are star-shaped. The mouth is in the lower center. Wrists extend from the body plate, and the number of wrists is generally five. The wrist is covered with gonads and digestive glands. There is an open belt groove communicating with the oral cavity under the wrist. There are 4 or 2 rows of tube feet in the groove, which are movable organs, and most of them have suction cups at their ends. The whole body consists of many calcareous bone plates combined with connective tissue, and there are prominent spinous processes, tumors or warts on the body surface. There are 1600 species in the world, and more than 100 species are known in China. Dioecious. Germ cells are released into seawater for fertilization. Starfish are distributed in all sea areas of the world, with the most species in the North Pacific. It is vertically distributed in intertidal zone to the water depth of 6000 meters, and lives in various sediments, but it is rare in soft mud bottom. The feeding habits of starfish vary greatly among species and within species.

Starfish have been used as medicine since ancient times.

This product is fished in summer and autumn. When the tide ebbs, it can be fished at the bottom of sand, stone or broken shell in intertidal zone. The medicine is complete, washed and dried.

Source "China Medicinal Animals"

Heteronym Starfish and Five-pointed Star (Fauna of Medicinal Animals in China)

The taste is salty and warm. A little poisonous.

Efficacy and stomach pain, stomach acid, diarrhea, epilepsy, goiter, etc.

Dosage and usage: 5~ 10g orally, or 1~2g by baking and grinding.

Prescription (1) is used to treat gastric and duodenal ulcer, stomachache and acid regurgitation: dry and grind with a seagoing vessel, each time 1 spoon, three times a day; Or cook with vinegar until crisp and grind into powder. 3g daily, with yellow wine delivered.

(2) Treatment of goiter: 30g fresh starfish, decocted in water.

(3) Treatment of epilepsy: Starfish is baked at the five wrist ends, and 3-6g of tea is ground. Take it with yellow wine before the attack.

(4) Treating diarrhea: 1 starfish, baking, grinding into fine powder, and taking orally.

(5) Treating otitis media: 1 starfish, baking, grinding into fine powder, mixing with sesame oil, and dripping into ears.

Ingredients Pharmacology Starfish contains many kinds of starfish saponins, which are toxic. Saponins a and b were separated from it. Another saponin can hydrolyze glucose, xylose, rhamnose and so on. Starfish contain acidic sticky particles, which are non-dialysis macromolecules. The gonad of starfish contains inorganic elements such as zinc, manganese, aluminum, cadmium, iron, magnesium, calcium, selenium, lead, copper, nickel, titanium, cobalt, lithium, chromium and a variety of amino acids. The compass case contains many trace elements: zinc, manganese, cadmium, iron, lead, copper, nickel, titanium, cobalt, lithium, chromium, tellurium, arsenic, barium, bismuth, antimony, silicon, germanium, niobium, tin, beryllium, zirconium, cesium, thallium, rubidium, strontium, calcium and so on. It also contains amino acids, among which threonine, valine and methionine account for about 30%, and the total content of protein is 19.66%. Starfish all contain an escape reaction substance, which is an aminopolysaccharide. Starfish mucopolysaccharide and starfish soap have anticancer activity. Starfish preparation has inhibitory effect on liver cancer in mice, and can improve the curative effect of CTX and adriamycin in chemotherapy and increase its tumor inhibition rate. The anticancer effect of its saponins lies in cell-like effect. Starfish extract can antagonize the spleen of mice induced by prednisone, and alleviate and inhibit the lipid oxidation reaction of mice liver. Starfish can also prolong the survival rate of mice under normal pressure and hypoxia. Acidic mucopolysaccharides in starfish can regulate immune function. Starwood Roche can obviously improve the swimming ability of mice, increase the total weight of mice's glands and increase the SOD content of mice's whole blood. Increase the weight of mice; It has obvious aphrodisiac effect on yang deficiency model mice; It can promote the development of testis in mice and help relieve muscle atrophy in mice with yang deficiency.

In recent years, more and more attention has been paid to the medicinal value of starfish. Many marine pharmaceutical or food enterprises have developed starfish nutrition capsules and other products, which have obvious effects on getting rid of diseases and strengthening the body.

However, starfish have toxins, so it must be used with caution for nourishing and keeping healthy at home.

Does a starfish have eyes?

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Starfish have no special eyes. It has a red eye at the end of each wrist, which may be an important sensing area for light. Starfish are mostly negative phototaxis and don't like light, so they are mostly active at night. Although starfish have no eyes, they have many chemoreceptors, which can detect the source of food in water and find food quickly. Take starfish as an example. In this system, there is a main pipe in each radiating wrist, and they are all connected with the pipe located in the mouth area. In most starfish, the porous plates on the body surface are connected with circular pipes, which may allow water to enter and mix with the internal body fluids. A short branch pipe extending from each main pipe is used to feed water into the bottom of the pipe. Each tube foot has an ampulla, which is a muscle structure. When the ampulla contracts, the liquid in it is forced into the pin, making it elongate. The tube foot can constantly change shape, because the liquid in the water pipe system can be continuously introduced into the tube foot through muscle activity.

Starfish are covered with "monitors"

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Starfish, a marine animal covered with echinoderms, has a strange star-shaped body. It usually has five long tentacles on its disk-shaped body, but it can't see its eyes. People always think that starfish rely on these tentacles to tell their directions, but they are not. Recent research by American and Israeli scientists found that starfish are "monitors". Why can starfish see everything with their bodies? It turns out that there are many tiny crystals on the echinoderms' skin of starfish, and each crystal can act as an eye to get the surrounding information. Scientists dissected the starfish and found that every tiny crystal on the prickly skin of the starfish is a perfect lens, which is far smaller than the lens made by human beings with existing high technology. Many lenses in starfish echinoderms have the characteristic of focusing light, which enables starfish to observe information from all directions at the same time and grasp the surrounding situation in time. Prior to this, scientists believed that starfish echinoderms were highly sensitive. They could decide what kind of hidden preventive measures to take by changing the light intensity around their bodies, and they could also confuse the "enemy" by changing their own colors. Scientists say that this unusual visual system on starfish has been discovered for the first time. Scientists predict that copying this tiny lens will make a breakthrough in optical technology and printing technology.