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The Seventh Lesson: Cosmic Evolution.821
rudimentary eyes and ears. Their tentacles, like those of the parent-polyp,
secrete the poisonous fluid which is discharged into prey or enemy.
Akin to the polyps are the sea-anemones, with their beautiful colors, and
still more complex structure and organism, the tentacles of which resemble
the petals of a flower. Varying slightly from these are the coral-creatures,
which form in colonies and the skeletons of which form the coral trees and
branches, and other forms, with which we are familiar.
Passing on to the next highest family of life-forms, we see the spiny-bodied
sea-creatures, such as the sea-urchin, star-fish, etc., which possess a thick,
hard skin, covered by spines or prickly projections. These creatures abound
in numerous species. The star-fish has rays projecting from a common centre,
which gives it its name, while the sea-urchin resembles a ball. The sea-lilies,
with their stems and flowers (so-called) belong to this family, as do also
the sea-cucumbers, whose name is obtained from their shape and general
appearance, but which are animals possessing a comparatively complex
organism, one of the features of which is a stomach which may be discarded
at will and replaced by a new one. These creatures have a well defined
nervous system, and have eyes, and some of them even rudimentary eyelids.
Ascending the scale of life-forms, we next observe the great family of
the Annulosa, or jointed creatures, which comprises the various families of
the worm, the crab, the spider, the ant, etc. In this great family are grouped
nearly four-fifths of the known life-forms. Their bodies are well formed and
they have nervous systems running along the body and consisting of two
thin threads, knotted at different points into ganglia or masses of nerve cells
similar to those possessed by the higher animals. They possess eyes and
other sense organs, in some cases highly developed. They possess organs,
corresponding to the heart, and have a well-developed digestive apparatus.
Note this advance in the nutritive organism: the moneron takes its food at
any point of its body; the amoeba takes its food by means of its “false-feet,”
and drives it through its body by a rhythmic movement of its substance; the
polyp distributes its food to its various parts by means of the water which it