Chromodoris hintuanensis - a polka-dotted Nudibranch!
(Source: thefeaturedcreature.com)
✌ oikos
The root of ecology is the Greek word oikos which means "home" or "a place to live." | Ecology: The branch of biology that deals with the relations of organisms to one another and to their physical surroundings. | I am an ecologist by training and am currently a grad student studying avian migration biology. | This blog: environment, ecology, biology, science, my research. | Relevant submissions encouraged :)
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November142012
September172012
The Bubble Snail
This nudibranch is called Haminoea cymbalum and it literally looks like it was hand blown by a master glass artist. But of course, nature has done all the work for us and made this beauty real. They are often found in very large populations, which I can only imagine must be quite a sight to see.
August132012
Moon jellyfish: fewer jellyfish have been spotted in UK waters this year although recent warmer weather could bring out more blooms of the sea creatures, conservationists say. While sightings are down in the UK, visitors to Spain’s Costa del Sol have been warned of massive blooms of mauve stinger jellyfish which have left many people requiring treatment.
August92012
Here’s a weird creature the kids are sure to find deliciously interesting: the Chocolate Chip Sea Star (Protoreaster nodosus)! These little treats of the sea are common in the aquarium trade but are actually quite hard to maintain. They usually end up destroying any sessile life forms including hard corals and sponges. Not exactly what you want happening in your home aquarium. In public aquariums, these stars are sometimes target-fed with chopped squids, clams or shrimps so that no unnecessary damage occurs.
When fully baked, these creatures reach 30 centimetres in diameter. The sea stars are usually colored in shades of red or brown, but can be light tan, the color of cookie dough.
July72012
![A new species of venomous sea snake mysteriously covered head to tail in spiny scales has been discovered in treacherous seas off northern Australia, a new study says.
Meet Hydrophis donaldi —
Though some other sea snakes have spiky scales on their bellies, “no other [known] sea snake has this curious feature,” study leader Kanishka Ukuwela, an ecologist at the University of Adelaide, said by email.
Normally snakes have smooth scales, but each of the newly named Hydrophis donaldi’s scales has a spiny projection, he said.
Scientists cruising shallow seagrass beds in the Gulf of Carpentaria recently captured nine of the rough-scaled reptiles.
(via Spiny, Venomous New Sea Snake Discovered—”Something Special”)](http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m6tffy2OrI1r82p2go1_500.jpg)
A new species of venomous sea snake mysteriously covered head to tail in spiny scales has been discovered in treacherous seas off northern Australia, a new study says.
Meet Hydrophis donaldi —
Though some other sea snakes have spiky scales on their bellies, “no other [known] sea snake has this curious feature,” study leader Kanishka Ukuwela, an ecologist at the University of Adelaide, said by email.
Normally snakes have smooth scales, but each of the newly named Hydrophis donaldi’s scales has a spiny projection, he said.
Scientists cruising shallow seagrass beds in the Gulf of Carpentaria recently captured nine of the rough-scaled reptiles.
(via Spiny, Venomous New Sea Snake Discovered—”Something Special”)
July32012
The black sea nettle (Chrysaora achlyos), sometimes informally known as the “black jellyfish” due to its dark coloration, is a species of jellyfish that can be found in the waters of the Pacific Ocean. It is a giant jellyfish, with its bell measuring up to 1 m (3 ft) in size, and its oral arms extending up to 6 m (20 ft) in length. Despite its size and occasional proximity to Pacific coastal cities, the Black sea nettle was only recognized and scientifically described as a separate species in 1997. It has the scientific distinction of being the largest invertebrate discovered in the twentieth century.
The sea nettle is radially symmetrical, marine, and carnivorous. Its mouth is located at the center of one end of the body, which opens to a gastrovascular cavity that is used for digestion. It has tentacles that surround the mouth to capture food. Nettles have no excretory or respiratory organs.
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