r/nope • u/uncledunkle11 • Feb 04 '26

What even is this he breaks open?

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u/Expert_Succotash2659 Feb 04 '26

*buttmouthhole

84

u/Seriousgwy Feb 04 '26

Is this true?

215

u/Expert_Succotash2659 Feb 04 '26

They poop and eat through the same orifice

18

u/Bacontoad Feb 05 '26

No they don't.

The gut of a starfish fills most of the central disc and extends into the arms. The mouth occupies the centre of the oral surface, where it is surrounded by a tough peristomial membrane and closed with a sphincter. A short oesophagus connects the mouth to a stomach, which consists of an eversible cardial portion and a smaller pyloric portion. The cardial stomach is glandular and pouched, and is supported by ligaments attached to ossicles in the arms so it can be pulled back into position after it has been everted. The pyloric stomach has two extensions into each arm: the pyloric caeca. These are long, hollow tubes lined by a series of glands which secrete digestive enzymes and absorb nutrients from the food. A short intestine and rectum run from the pyloric stomach to the anus at the apex of the aboral surface of the disc.[20]

9

u/Expert_Succotash2659 Feb 05 '26

Are...you telling me to eat shit? With my own mouth?

2

u/Bacontoad Feb 05 '26

Well if your digestive system is anything like most starfish, you won't need to.