Marine Curio
Marine Curios #22 Blanket octopus, Tremoctopus spp.
Drifting through tropical open ocean, the blanket octopus is famed for its extraordinary size difference between the sexes and its…
Marine Curios #21 Hooded or lion nudibranch, Melibe leonina
The hooded nudibranch, also called the lion or lion’s mane nudibranch, is a voracious hunter that swallows its prey whole…
Marine Curios #20 – Sailor’s Eyeballs, Valonia ventricosa
They look like unremarkable polished stones but sailor’s eyeballs are actually one of the most unique organisms on the planet…
Marine Curios #19 – Torpedo Ray, Torpedo spp.
‘Numb, sluggish and lethargic’, the torpedo ray wasn’t named after the naval weapon but by the ancient Romans, whose physicians…
Marine Curios #18 – Lampert’s Sea Cucumber, Syanptula lamperti
It only eats one flavour of sponge, and it feasts so voraciously that Syanptula lamperti’s dinner takes less than an…
Marine Curios #17 – Argonaut, or paper nautilus
Named for the sailors of Greek mythology, argonauts – also known as paper nautili – are a unique group of…
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…
Marine Curios #15 – Regalecus glesne, or giant oarfish
The subject of marine myths and sea serpent legends, the misnamed giant oarfish doesn’t actually row itself anywhere. This giant…
Marine Curios #14 – Kiwa hirsuta, or Yeti crab
Kiwa hirsuta or Yeti crab – prefers it not too hot, and not too cold, but just right, down there…
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…
Marine Curios #12 – Clione limacina, or naked sea butterfly
Clione limacina, the naked sea butterfly, sounds like an angelic little creature… that eats its relatives! The naked sea butterfly,…
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) There…
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…
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 has a much more unusual heritage Despite looking a lot…
Marine Curios #6 – Ambystoma mexicanum, axolotl or Mexican walking fish
The strangest fish in all of Mexico – the axolotl – isn’t actually a fish at all, but that’s just…
Marine Curios #5 – Mitsukurina owstoni, or goblin shark
The rarely-seen goblin shark is one of the oldest fish in the sea, living in the deep darkness of its…
Marine Curios #4 – Glaucus atlanticus, or blue angel/dragon sea slug
There’s very little angelic about Glaucus atlanticus, the blue angel sea slug Blue it may be, but there’s little to…
Marine Curios #3 – Cymothoa exigua or tongue-eating louse
One reason to be grateful you’re not a fish – the spine-chilling Cymothoa exigua, or tongue-eating louse Finding Nemo could…
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…
Marine Curios #1 – Periphylla periphylla, or helmet jellyfish
The first in DIVE’s Miscellany of Marine Curios – Periphylla periphylla, the helmet jellyfish The helmet jellyfish (Periphylla periphylla), is…