"They Actually Eat That" - Starfish + A Mission.

Some foods on this column are cool. Some of them look gross, but I've actually tried them and they're quite good.  Some things are ordinary stuff you didn't know was gross. Then, there are weird foods that we don't have in the States or consider bizarre on other counts...which is most things, really.

Among this last group, usually, are the things that make me go "why?" Maybe I'm just culturally-unaware of something, but there are just some things people eat that make me question their motivation for doing so. This is one of them.

From www.uncorneredmarket.com

Starfish is one of those things that makes me go "why?" Who would look at a starfish and go, "hey, that might be good?" They're probably more appealing while alive, and it's convenient that they have a fairly simple body plan, but there's nothing about them that screams "eat me." As with sea urchins, they just look unappealing. It's an excellent survival tactic.

The upside is that starfish are not as bad for you as, say, regular fish (which have their own horror stories). After pawing through a few videos, it does look like the starfish have some meat on them. One could almost call sea urchin logic on this one (after all, they're related). That tough skin is usually protecting something. Plus, sea otters crack echinoderms all the time, right? They must be eating something in that shell...while looking adorable.

Then again, China. Just...China. I've said so much about China putting everything on a stick that there is not much more to say. They cook the starfish, at least. The most popular methods include sun-drying and just plain frying. I have yet to see starfish sold raw, but it probably exists. Probably.

That said, do not go hunting for starfish yourself and put them on sticks. Some starfish are poisonous. Eating starfish already shows that you have daring taste buds. No need to add venom into that mix. If you're really that eager to get poisoned...fugu. That is all.

Actually, that's NOT all. I have a mission for you, the readers. Starting next week, YOU get to pick the entries for a whole theme week of local specialties. It'll be a whole week of weird, unique foods. Deep-dish pizza will be the only entry I will forcefully add in there. 

Your mission, should you choose to accept it: Find a local specialty near you and post a description of it here. Get crackin'...and eatin'!

Creature Feature: Purple and Orange Starfish.

Y'know what? This entry does not need a fancy intro. There have been so many people asking what the hell this starfish is, or if it is even real, that mere confirmation of its status as a real animal merits a blog entry. After all, who would believe that an animal could naturally be orange and purple?

Well, this one is. The purple and orange starfish's scientific name is Astropecten articulatus- no reference to its bizarre coloration at all. It is also called the royal starfish, which is likely a reference to purple being a regal color. It is fairly common along the southeastern U.S. coast and, like all starfish, is predatory.

That is really all that is special about this particular starfish. Oh, wait...starfish are pretty darn weird anyways. No, we are not talking about Patrick's desire to taste the rainbow.

There's nothing REMOTELY suspect about this image. Nope.

On an embryonic level, starfish are much closer to us than most other invertebrates. They are deuterosomes; that is, the first opening of a baby starfish and a baby vertebrate becomes the anus, whereas in most others it becomes the mouth. We both start life wanting to crap before eating; lovely.

Starfish, like all echindoderms, exhibit pentaradial symmetry- that is, their body is divided into five fairly-even chunks instead of two. There are a few starfish species that break this rule, but otherwise, it's solid. It is safe to say that everything one arm has, the others usually do as well. Yes, this includes starfish junk and eyes.

The appendages are lined with tube feet on the bottom, allowing the starfish to move about and pry open bivalves. They are also part of the starfish's hydraulic circulatory system; basically, starfish use a dot in the center of themselves called a madreporite to gather the water that they use for moving, respiration and digestion.

The mouth is in the center of those arms. Starfish wrap themselves around potential prey and work from there, usually extending their own stomachs outwards towards their food. One of the few notable things about the royal starfish besides it wacky colors is that it, unlike other starfish, swallows its food whole; the food is already slightly digested by the time that it gets to the starfish's stomach. Oh, and it's purple, but haven't we covered that enough already?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No. No, we have not.

For a starfish, this colorful specimen is hardly weird. That is not saying much; starfish are pretty weird themselves.

Tomorrow: An animal so intense that it merits its own energy drink...or at least a Powerthirst reference. For some reason, the most fearless animal in nature has neither.

Also, lots of pics came from this awesome page. Thanks SO much for being an informative source as opposed to "OMG A PURPLE AND ORANGE STARFISH!"