Marine Bio - Blog Posts

Helmet Jelly

Periphylla periphylla

The Helmet Jelly can be found at all depths of the ocean. This vibrant and strange jellyfish tends to proliferate in Norwegian fjords. They are one of the dominant predators in these isolated ecosystems. 

Photos

http://www.seawater.no/fauna/cnidaria/periphylla.html

https://www.bigfishexpeditions.com/2019/01/24/norway-deepwater-shark-diving-2018/helmet-jelly/

Black Dragonfish

Idiacanthus atlanticus

The Black Dragonfish are needle-like fish that migrate between 500m and 2000m in the deep ocean. Females are black with 6 stripes and lack a barbel, pelvic fins, and sharp teeth. Males, on the other hand, are dark brown and have a barbel, which is the light producing structure on its chin. Furthermore, it uses bioluminescence to detect prey instead of lure prey.

Photo credit: https://scitechdaily.com/scientists-learn-secrets-from-ultra-black-skin-that-allows-deep-sea-fish-to-lurk-unseen/

https://steemit.com/life/@munnashah/the-most-terrible-and-surprising-7-animals-of-the-sea

https://knowyourmeme.com/photos/995601-thalassophobia

Blacksnout Seasnail

Paralipparis copei copei

The Blacksnout Seasnail may not look like a snail, but it does have a slimy, gelatinous substance that covers its body. It can be found at depths between 200 m to 1692 m, and adults grow up to be 17 cm in size (approximately 6.5 in). It also has an elongated body that resembles an eel. Furthermore, it can be seen rolling itself in a loop; this behavior is a defensive posture that makes it appear like a jelly. In the darkness, predators tend to avoid the Blacksnout Seasnail because its often mistaken as a hunter due to its appearance and behavior.

I just don’t get it. How can our society act so goddamned normal about seahorses. How can anybody so casually accept that that’s a fish???

This is one of nature’s most anatomically perverse of all beasts. A FISH, like a carp or a bass or a beta is a fish, but it bent its body straight up only to bend its head permanently back down. It stretched its skull into a pipe. It tapered its tail like a lizard, specifically like a chameleon. It can also move its eyes independently by the way, you know, like a chameleon. Fun fact, it can change color to express its mood, like you know whatever does that. It doesn’t properly swim anymore. It buzzes its few remaining fins like an insect’s wings to float itself around at a snail’s pace. It lives its whole life clinging to coral branches or seaweed, which means it decided to become a “tree dweller” in an environment where gravity didn’t even matter anyway. The males get pregnant. They make noises at each other by rubbing some of their neck bones together. Every day, EVERY DAY a mated pair does a little dance and a little neck bone song so they remember which two seahorses they were. They’re a beautiful precious obscenity. Nothing so adorable ever made such a strong case against a logical creator.

They have as little skin and meat as they could get away with. Their skeleton is almost all they are.