Starfish On the Rampage

The Great Barrier Reef, the largest animal-made structure on earth, may be shrinking.

Vast areas of the 1,200-mile-long reef, which was formed by tiny animals called corals, have been damaged, not by oil spills or any other man-made peril, but by a plague of crown of thorns starfish.

The starfish were first reported in large numbers during the 1960s. Since then, they have eaten their way down to the southern end of the reef, which lies off the eastern coast of Australia.

Portions of the reef already ravaged by the starfish have begun to grow back, but Australian scientists fear that the hungry echinoderms may start eating their way northward again, devouring the regenerated portions of the reef.

The crown of thorns starfish derive their name from prominent, poisonous spines that cover the upper portion of their body.

The starfish, which sport 16 or 17 arms and grow up to 20 inches in diameter, have been found in concentrations of up to 300,000 per square mile.

Some scientists believe the starfish plague may be the result of the activities of shell collectors and spear fishermen, who kill off many of the starfish's normal predators.

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Earthquakes have probably killed more than 13 million people over the last 4,000 years.

The most deadly quake of all time occurred in 1556, in Shensi Province, China, when some 830,000 people lost their lives.

The worst quake of this century occurred on July 28, 1976, destroying the city of Tangshan in eastern China, and taking a toll of some 700,000 lives.

The greatest material damage was caused by the Great Quake in Tokyo and Yokohama, Japan on September 1, 1923.

"It took 140,000 lives and damaged property valued at an estimated $2.8 billion."

The sea bottom in a nearby bay sank close to 1,000 feet, and tossed potatoes right out of the ground.