Starfish by the starfish in an escape response. The loss of parts of the body is achieved by the rapid softening of a special type of connective tissue in response to nervous signals. This type of tissue is called catch connective tissue and is found in most echinoderms. An autotomy-promoting factor has been identified which, when injected into another starfish, causes rapid shedding of arms. The lifespan of a starfish varies considerably between species, generally being longer in larger forms and in those with planktonic larvae. For example, "Leptasterias hexactis" broods a small number of large-yolked eggs. It has an adult
Broad-headed spiny rat Broad-headed spiny rat The broad-headed spiny rat ("Clyomys laticeps") is a spiny rat species from South America. The etymology of the species name is the Latin word "laticeps" meaning "wide-headed". The species has a head-body length that ranges from , with a tail long, and weigh between . They have short ears and limbs, and feet with powerful claws adapted for digging. The fur is interspersed with spines; it is grizzled reddish or yellowish and black over most of the body, and paler grey to almost white on the underparts. Broad-headed spiny rats are native to southern Brazil and eastern