Sensor star

this five-armed, aquatic mollusk was native to the planet F'tral. The five arms surrounded a central body section, which was studded with a number of sensory appendages. They live in groups of 20-30 individuals, using their collection of arms to herd small reptiles, fish, and insects. They seem to communicate via a series of subsonic tones which were inaudible to most humanoid races, but could be detected using specialized equipment. Scientists discovered that the "language" of the sensor stars included combinations of tones for concepts like "emergency," "storm," and "food." This allowed determined groups to actually use the sensor star as a primitive sensor system.