Cockles and the Starfish who like to eat them! A nice gallery of escape responses!

Here's a neat escape response that was captured on Flickr between a Florida cockle and the sand star Astropecten! Images captured by "The LivingSea.com"  Plus some video of Pacific cockles being chased by sunflower stars!


Here, we see Astropecten articulatus in contact with the cockle (Trachycardium egmontianum)

The cockle is alerted! And it extends its large muscular foot to begin its escape!

 The foot pushes the cockle away!
 

And aWWAAAAYYYY it goes!
 
And away!


On the Pacific coast, different species of predatory starfish (in this case the sunflower star Pycnopodia helianthoides) also feed on cockles.. an identical response is observed..


Here's a really nice one


Here's one that literally does a judo like flip on Pycnopodia!


here's a decent one with a wacky sound track..


Here's a variety of responses to both cockles AND scallops!  (the scallops are the one that "jet" away using their excurrent siphons)