The point is, everyone loves to find and study starfish

A nine-armed starfish Everyone loves starfish. As I walk along our beaches, I love hearing, "Hey, come look!" and realizing it's a child who has delighted in finding one of the slow-moving creatures. Invariably, everyone within earshot comes to see the treasure from the sea.

You might be surprised to learn that starfish are not fish at all, because they don't have a backbone or fins. That's why biologists prefer to use the term "sea stars."

No matter whether you call them sea stars or starfish, however, they're very unusual animals for several reasons.

For starters, just like the scarecrow in "The Wizard of Oz," they don't have a brain. Instead they have a ring of nerve cells that moves information around their body.

Even so, starfish can regenerate a lost arm. It's a slow process, taking up to a year. Scientists are studying how the starfish accomplishes this amazing feat; when the mystery is unlocked, perhaps it can help human amputees. Most starfish have five arms, but some varieties have up to 11. I've seen many of the nine-armed variety along our gulf beaches.

Secondly, starfish might be the only animals whose feet are attached directly to their arms. What's even more amazing, they don't have a front or back, so they can move in any direction without turning. This is called "radial symmetry."

Starfish use a system of hydraulics rather than muscles to get around. They take water in through a valve that's usually on their topside. Internal "pipes" use water to expand and contract tube feet, allowing the starfish to crawl along the ocean bottom a few inches a minute. Wouldn't it be fun to see a starfish race a snail?

Most starfish have eyespots at the tip of each arm that act as light sensors. These microscopic, primitive "eyes" allow starfish to see movement and tell light from dark. They cannot focus on objects, however.

And finally, a starfish doesn't have a head at all, just a mouth on its bottom side. It eats clams, oysters, mussels, snails and barnacles by grabbing the shells with its arms, holding on with its tube feet and prying the shells apart. When the starfish sits on top of the shellfish and opens its mouth, an amazing thing happens: A cardiac stomach pushes out through the mouth and begins to digest the shellfish. When digestion is nearly complete, the starfish draws its stomach back and empties the food into its pyloric stomach for final digestion.

All starfish are invertebrates that belong to the phylum Echinoderms, a Greek word meaning "spiny skin." This phylum has more than 6,000 species including sea urchins, sea cucumbers and sand dollars. Worldwide,

Starfish live on the ocean bottom, from tidal pools along the shore out into deeper water. All oceans have starfish, but none live in fresh water.

Most species shed their eggs and sperm into the water. Fertilization is external and depends on chance. In a couple of hours a female starfish can shed several million eggs. Starfish larvae — those that are not devoured by fish and eels — mature in about two months, with speed of maturation depending on water temperature. Gulls and other birds eat a large number of adult starfish.

Now that you know a bit more about starfish, you're ready to find some on your own. Try walking a beach just after a storm and you should find some washed ashore. Starfish are also easily stranded when the tide goes out, but can survive if the sun doesn't dry them before the next tide. Good luck, and let me know about your starfish adventures.

.. Take a hike or grab a paddle

Although guided canoe tours and hikes have ended for the summer, there's lots to discover on your own at Collier-Seminole State Park:

>>Rent a canoe - Paddle down the Blackwater River through a mangrove forest toward the Gulf of Mexico. Enjoy birding, fishing (salt water license required) or just a relaxing paddle in this outdoor wonderland. Rentals available from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. daily.

>>Hike 11 miles of trails - Experience pine flatwoods, cypress areas and rare royal palm hammocks. One of three trails is interpretative, another allows for off-road biking, and a third has a remote campsite. Be sure to stop to register at the ranger station for the two longer trails and call ahead to reserve the campsite. Trails are open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily. The park also offers picnicking, birding, fishing, camping, a boat ramp and a chance to see the historic "walking dredge" that was used to build the Tamiami Trail. The entrance to Collier-Seminole State Park is at 20200 U.S. 41 East, eight miles east of Highway 951. Park entrance fee is $4 for up to eight people in a car; there is an additional fee for camping. Call 392-3397 for more information.