The Amazing Ocean (Old Post Throwback!)

Hello fellow Marine Biologists! It’s time for me to bring back one of my favorite topics! As said multiple times in the past, I love marine life, and I’m always amazed at the new creatures that are discovered. This post will discuss some of the coolest creatures of the sea. Now, let’s begin our incredible journey!

• Helmet Jelly (Periphylla periphylla) Size: Can be up to 1m Depths found in: 0-7000m Habitats: Oceans worldwide as well as the Mediterranean Sea Diet: Plankton

The Helmet Jelly is one of the largest Jellyfish found in the deep sea. It is usually bright red in color, and emits a bioluminescent glow. This glow allows the creature to distinguish between light and dark. The Jelly is actually considered to be quite a nuisance in Norway, as it devours many resources in isolated ecosystems.

     

 

• Radiolarians (Tuscaridium cygneum) Size: 1.2 cm Depths found in: 400-2200m Habitat: Oceans worldwide Diet: Phytoplankton 

Radiolarians are unique types of Zooplankton that mainly reside in the column of deep waters. Despite being microscopic in size, when zoomed in on, they’re quite beautiful, and resemble spherical spiky balls. They also can’t swim, and remain perfectly still, floating in the deep depths. When disturbed, the Radiolarian will emit a bioluminescent glow. Upon death, the skeletons of these creatures will fall to the ocean floor, and are one of the prime materials found in abyssal sediment.

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More Fascinating Creatures Of The Sea (Every Other Tuesday)

Sea creatures found on en.wikipedia.org

Hello fellow Marine Biologists! It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means! Yes, it’s time to take a look at some more interesting sea creatures. Now, let’s go for a dive!

• Pacu (Colossoma macropomum) Size: Up to 3.5 ft Weight: Up to 88 pounds Habitat: South America 

The Pacu is an incredibly creepy fish that’s related to the piranha. The fish has square human-like teeth and a slight overbite. Despite its unsettling appearance the Pacu only eats plant material. They can be found in pet shops, and are also known as “vegetarian piranha”.

  

• Spookfish (Macropinna microstoma) Size: Under 20 cm Habitat: 400-2,500 m deep 

The Spookfish is a very strange creature that lives in the deep sea. It has large telescopic eyes and a long, slender body. It doesn’t have teeth, and its eyes help them see in the dark ocean.

More Fascinating Creatures Of The Sea ( Every Other Tuesday)

Creatures found in DK’s Ocean: The Definitive Visual Guide and Claire Nouvian’s book, The Deep

Hello fellow Marine Biologists!  It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means! Yes, it’s time to take a look at some more incredible creatures. Now, let’s dive!

• Mauve Stinger (Pelagia noctiluca) Diameter: Up to 5 in Habitat: Open water near the surface of the ocean 

The Mauve Stinger is a very dynamic type of jellyfish. This creature can produce bioluminescent light shows, which are admired by people passing by. As the name suggests, this jellyfish’s sting is quite painful. It produces luminous mucus which causes its stingers to glow with intense light. Unlike most jellyfish, this species’ life cycle doesn’t have a fixed stage.

 

 

• Squarenose Helmetfish (Scopelogadus beanii) Size: 12 cm Depths Found: 800-4000 m

The Helmetfish is named after the armor that was worn by medieval knights. It has two very strange holes which are this creature’s nostrils. The white strands covering this fishes head is a network of sensory canals. 

More Fascinating Creatures Of The Sea (Every Other Tuesday)

Creatures found in DK’s Ocean: The Definitive Visual Guide 

Hello fellow Marine Biologists! It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means! Yes, it’s time for us to take a look at some more incredible creatures. Now, let’s dive!

• Goblin Shark (Mitsukurina owstoni) Length: Up to 12 3/4 ft Weight: 210 kg Depths Found: 1,000-3,400 ft

The Goblin Shark is an incredibly grotesque creature of the sea. It is completely pink in color, and has a very strange bill-like snout. The snout is speculated to be used for detecting prey in the atramentous depths. The shark’s jaws can be shot forward to catch prey. Fossils of similar species have been found in rocks that are over 100 million years old.

• Olive Sea Snake (Aipysurus laevis) Length: 3-7 ft Habitat: Coral reefs estuaries, and coastal shallows

The Olive Sea Snake is a beautiful, yet deadly creature of the sea. The snake is olive-brown, and has a much paler underside. It is very unique in that it has ventricle scales, a feature that all land snakes have. This reptile hunts for prey  in the large crevices of coral. The snake’s bite is extremely toxic, and may be fatal to humans.

 

More Fascinating Creatures Of The Sea (Every Other Tuesday)

Creatures found in DK’s Ocean: The Definitive Visual Guide

Hello fellow Marine Biologists! It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means!  Yes, it’s time to take a look at some more fascinating creatures. Now, let’s dive!

• Sailor’s Eyeball (Valonia ventricosa) Size: Up to 4 cm  Habitat: Rock and coral to 100 ft

The Sailor’s Eyeball is a very odd species of seaweed. They look like dark green marbles and consist of a large cell attached to a substrate by a bunch of filaments. Young plants have a bluish sheen. It reproduces in a very odd way, in which the daughter cell is created within the parent cell. 

 

• Bignose Unicornfish (Naso vlamingii) Size: Up to 24 in Depth: 3-165 ft 

Unicornfish are very strange fish with horn-like projections on their foreheads. This particular species has a bulbous snout in place of said projection. They have bony plates on the base of their tails, which are sharp like knifes. These plates are used for protection against predators. They’re usually dark with blue streaks, and can pale into a silvery gray.

More Fascinating Creatures of the Sea (Every Other Tuesday)

Creatures found in DK’s Ocean: The Definitive Visual Guide

Hello fellow Marine Biologists! It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means! Yes, it’s time for us to go on another marine adventure. Now, let’s dive!

• Nautilus (Nautilus pompilius) Size: The shell can be a maximum of 8 in Typically found in: Tropical open waters up to 1,600 ft 

The Nautilus is an absolutely incredible type of Cephalopod. The five remaining species started as a numerous group nearly 65 million years ago. They are commonly referred to as “living fossils” due to the nearly non-existant change in anatomy. The creature has a hard shell as a defense against predators, and uses its 90 tentacles to catch prey. It moves through the water using jet propulsion and lays about twelve eggs per year.

 

•  Giant Brain Coral (Colpophyllia natans) Diameter: Up to a whopping 16 ft Depths Found: 3-180 ft in the seaward side of coral reefs 

This incredibly strange species of coral has an very long life span that extends 100 years. It is named after the brain shaped ridges and long valleys that run along its top. The colonies attract a lot of tourists, and some small fish, like gobies, make a permanent home in its massive frame.

 

More Fascinating Sea Creatures (Every Other Tuesday)

Sea Creatures found in DK’s Ocean The Definitive Visual Guide

Hello fellow Marine Biologists! It’s Tuesday, and you know what that means! Yes, it’s time for us to take a look at some more sea creatures. Now, let’s go for a dive!

• Stinging Hydroid (Aglaophenia cupressina) Length: Up to 16 in  Depths Found In: 10-100 ft in coral reefs 

The Stinging Hydroid is a nasty little creature that’s found in coral reefs. As the name suggests, it packs quite a punch. It can disguise itself as a fern, and captures small planktonic animals. Humans who are stung will develop a week-long itchy rash.

• Eyelight Fish (Photoblepharon palpebratum) Length: 5 in Depths Found: 23-82 ft

The Eyelight Fish is a tiny sea creature with a large bioluminescent receptor. It is located under each eye, and emits a blue-green light. The light both startles predators, and helps this fish find food.