Tag: Ocean
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147/150: Nutty Facts about the Peanut Worm!
Animalia: Sipuncula: Phascolosomatidea: Phascolosomatida: Phascolosomatidae: Phascolosoma agassizii (Henri Marie Ducrotay de Blainville, 1827) Peanut worms, also known as Sipunculids are marine worms in that typically dwell in shallow waters. Sipuncula means “little tube” or “siphon” in Latin and refers to the introvert of peanut worms, a long sensitive tube ringed with tentacles which they can…
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131/150: What has a lion’s mane and lives under the sea? A jellyfish!
Animalia: Cnidaria: Scyphozoa: Semaeostomeae: Cyaneidae: Cyanea: Cyanea capillata (Linnaeus, 1758) The Lion’s Mane jellyfish is the largest species of jellyfish in the world. The largest specimen was found in 1870 at Massachusetts Bay, United States with a bell diameter of 2.3 meters and tentacles reaching 37 meters, which is longer than the length of a…
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105/150: Sea pens – not your typical corals
Animalia: Cnidaria: Anthozoa: Pennatulacea: Pennatulidae: Pennatula: Pennatula aculeata (Danielssen, 1860) Sea pens are colonial marine cnidarians found worldwide and normally at depths greater than 10 meters. Sea pens prefer deeper waters because they can avoid uprooting due to water turbulence. They live most of their lives in a sessile (immobile) state, however they can relocate…
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93/150: What a big mouth!
Animalia: Chordata: Elasmobranchii: Lamniformes: Cetorhinidae: Cetorhinus: Cetorhinus maximus (Gunnerus, 1765) Basking sharks are known as the second biggest fish in the ocean reaching lengths of up to 10 metres and weighing almost 6 tonnes! But unlike its menacing cousins the basking shark is a gentle creature that feeds on small organisms such as plankton through…
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64/150: Birds of the Sea
Animalia: Echinodermata: Crinoidea: Comatulida: Antedonidae: Heliometrinae: Florometra: Florometra serratissima (AH Clark, 1907) While you wouldn’t think birds would be able to exist in the ocean, the common feather star Florometra serratissima could very well be considered the bird of the sea! They are able to move around either by grasping terrain with their claw-like cirri…
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63/150: The Ultimate Diving Champion
animalia: Chordata: Aves: Anseriformes: Anatidae: Clangula: Clangula hyemalis (Linnaeus, 1758) Now this species is set for the Olympics! The Long-tailed Duck (Clangula hyemalis) – formerly known as Oldsquaw – sets the record for one of the deepest diving ducks (over 60 metres)! Whereas Olympic athletes perform impressive feats like these for medals, the Long-tailed Duck…