July 2010
3 posts
Deep Sea Freak of the Week
Today’s Deep Sea Freak of the Week is the Anglerfish. Anglerfish are members of the order Lophiiformes, and are named for their characteristic method of predation. Anglerfishes typically have at least one long filament sprouting from the middle of the head, with some species emitting bioluminescence from the end of the filament to attract prey. Anglerfish: unlikely to compete for the title...
Shallow Sea Freak of the Week
This week’s freak is the Striped Pyjama Squid (Sepioloidea lineolata), a cuttlefish from off the coast of eastern, southern and western Australia. The species is also known as the Striped Dumpling Squid, and - along with the blue-ringed octopus and the fabulously-named Pfeffer’s Flamboyant Cuttlefish- is one of the few species of cephalopods known to be poisonous. A Striped Pyjama...
Deep Sea Freak of the Week
In recognition of yesterday’s Canada Day, Deep Sea Freak of the Week presents this photograph from the Barkley Canyon, off the coast of British Columbia. These attractive Canadian freaks are a brittle star (or ophiuroid) climbing on a sea pen. Brittle stars are closely related to starfish, and have five whip-like arms, used for locomotion: Sea pens are colony animals consisting of a...
