LET’S EXPLORE COLORFUL WORLD BENEATH THE WAVES !

Scientists recently created a complete catalogue of all known marine life. While 226,000 species have been described, there may hundreds of thousands more…Read More » hidden in the deep. While the ocean is still a vast unknown, scientists believe that most of the sea's undiscovered species will be found by the end of the century.


 

 

  

 

 Nudibranch (Sea Slug) 

 

     

The sea slug Chromodoris lives in the islands off Polynesia in France. The species was first discovered in 1930.    

 

 

     

Sea slugs can feed on sea sponges, polyps and sea anemones; these animals can be extremely toxic, and the sea slugs not only are unaffected by the poison of their preys, but also deposit the toxins and pigments in their skin, becoming, in their turn extremely toxic for other animals. The slugs use their radula, a rough mouth piece, in the manner of a scraper, when eating. Large sea slugs feed on other sea slugs inclusively.

 

 

Leafy Sea Dragon

 

 

 

 Sea Dragons are arguably the most spectacular and mysterious of all ocean fish. Though close relatives of sea horses, sea dragons have larger bodies and leaf-like appendages which enable them to hide among floating seaweed or kelp beds. Sea dragons feed on larval fishes and amphipods, such as and small shrimp-like crustaceans called mysids ("sea lice"), sucking up their prey in their small mouths. Many of these amphipods feed on the red algae that thrives in the shade of the kelp forests where the sea dragons live.

 

 

Olindias Formosa (Flower Hat Jelly)

 

 

 

 

                          

 The Flower Hat Jelly is commonly found in Brazil, Argentina, and of southern Japan. It lives close to the ocean floor and clusters on kelp fronds and sea grass. It will occasionally rise up to the surface. Flower hat jellies eat mostly small fishes and some marine invertebrates. They capture their prey by injecting venom from stinging cells in its tentacles. Like all of its jellyfish friends, it can grow or shrink depending on its food supply. When there is not much food, it can shrink in size so it needs to eat less. It grows back up to its full size when there is lots of food.

 

Phyllorhiza Punctata (Australian Spotted Jellyfish)

 

 

 

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 Phyllorhiza punctata is a large jellyfish with a rounded and somewhat flattened gelatinous bell that is clear or possibly tinted brown with many small white crystalline refractive spots close to the surface . As is characteristic of members of Order Rhizostomae, the bell margin lacks tentacles and the central mouth area is ringed by eight highly dichotomous (branching) oral arms that each bear 14 lappets (flaps of tissue) and become fused near their bases. Within it's native range and in certain introduced localities, symbiotic zooxanthellae reside in the tissue of the animal, giving these jellyfish a brownish tint.

 

 

 

 

 Spirobranchus Giganteus (Christmas Tree Worms)

 

 

 

Christmas tree worms come in a variety of bright colors. They aren’t very big, averaging about 1.5 inches in length. Each worm has two brightly colored crowns that protrude from its tube-like body. These Christmas tree-like crowns are composed of radioles, or hair-like appendages radiating from the worm’s central spine. These appendages are used for respiration and to catch dinner, which typically consists of microscopic plants, or phytoplankton, floating in the water.

These worms are sedentary, meaning that once they find a place they like, they don’t move much. In fact, while the colorful crowns of these worms are visible, most of their bodies are anchored in burrows that they bore into live coral. When startled, Christmas tree worms rapidly retract into their burrows, hiding from would-be predators.

 

 

 

 

Hawaiian Bobtail Squid

 

 

 

 

 

Cephalopod molluscs are famed for their ability to spray clouds of ink and make quick escapes when threatened. However, the Hawaiian bobtail squid – which can be found off the coast of the Hawaiian Islands and Midway Island in the north Pacific Ocean – relies on bioluminescence for self-defense. In order for the squid to evade the attacks of predators, bioluminescent displays eclipse its silhouette, making it invisible rather than a ready meal. The squid also uses the same mechanism to feed on prey such as brine shrimp. As it lacks the chemicals to produce its own light, the Hawaiian bobtail squid collects bioluminescent Vibrio fischeri bacteria in a special light organ. This organ contains “lens” tissue to focus the light through the squid’s mantle and is surrounded by a modified ink sac that acts like a camera diaphragm. Interestingly, the squid jettisons its luminous bacteria during the day to save energy.