Marine Curio
Marine Curios #16 – Ctenoides ales or disco clam
It was given its name for its flashing light display, but Ctenoides ales, the disco clam, is more like a mirrorball than a dancefloor strobe
Marine Curios #15 – Regalecus glesne, or giant oarfish
The subject of many marine myths and sea serpent legends, the misnamed giant oarfish doesn't actually row itself anywhere.
Marine Curios #14 – Kiwa hirsuta, or Yeti crab
Kiwa hirsuta - the Yeti crab - prefers it not too hot, and not too cold, but just right, down there in its hairy hydrothermal depths.
Marine Curios #13 – Marrus orthocanna, a pelagic siphonophore
Marrus orthocanna - a deeper, darker, colder relative of the Portuguese man o' war but with much less of a sting in its tail
Marine Curios #12 – Clione limacina, or naked sea butterfly
Clione limacina, also known as the naked sea butterfly, sounds like an angelic little creature - that feasts on its relatives...!
Marine Curios #11 – order Xiphosura, or horseshoe crabs
Horseshoe crabs are living fossils threatened by a unique usefulness to human science (and they're not related to crabs)
Marine Curios #10 – Pseudocolochirus violaceus or sea apple
Pseudocolochirus violaceus - a cucumber shaped like an apple with an unpleasant mode of defence and which breathes through its backside
Marine Curios #9 – Periophthalmus modestus or Shuttles hoppfish
Many land animals enjoy jumping out of the water, Periophthalmus modestus is a fish that enjoys jumping out of it
Marine Curios #8 – Grimothea planipes, or the pelagic or red or tuna crab (or langostilla)
The pelagic red crab, Grimothea planipes, is a species of squat lobster, and possibly one of the most important crustaceans…
Marine Curios #7 – Pelagothuria natatrix or pelagic sea cucumber
Once mistaken for an unknown species of jellyfish, Pelagothuria natatrix is a deep ocean sea cucumber that learned to swim
Marine Curios #6 – Ambystoma mexicanum, axolotl or Mexican walking fish
The strangest fish in all of Mexico - the axolotl - isn't a fish at all, but that's just the least of Ambystoma mexicanum's issues
Marine Curios #5 – Mitsukurina owstoni, or goblin shark
The rarely-seen goblin shark is one of the oldest fish in the sea, a living fossil of the darkest depths, but not nearly as nasty as its namesake
Marine Curios #4 – Glaucus atlanticus, or blue angel/dragon sea slug
There's very little angelic about Glaucus atlanticus, the blue angel sea slug - it can pack a very dangerous sting, depending on what it had for lunch
Marine Curios #3 – Cymothoa exigua or tongue-eating louse
One reason to be grateful you're not a fish - the spine-chilling isopod Cymothoa exigua, or tongue-eating louse
Marine Curios #2 – Nereis sandersi, a deep ocean worm
Lurking deep within the bowels of the earth - quite literally - is Nereis sandersi - a deep ocean polychaete worm
Marine Curios #1 – Periphylla periphylla, or helmet jellyfish
From DIVE's Miscellany of Marine Curios - Periphylla periphylla - the helmet jellyfish - a vertical migrator with a very rare reproductive