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
Ferreira's spiny tree-rat Ferreira's spiny tree-rat Ferreira's spiny tree-rat, "Mesomys hispidus", is a spiny rat species from South America. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname and Venezuela. The etymology of the species name corresponds to the Latin word "" meaning "bristly". The description of "Mesomys hispidus" was conducted on a specimen collected by the naturalist Alexandre Rodrigues Ferreira during his travels in Amazonian Brazil, hence the species name. Initially deposited in the Museu Real d'Ajuda of Portugal, it has been brought to Paris in 1808 after the plundering of Lisbon by the armies of Napoleon. Then,