Strange and amazing creatures pic thread

[GoddessOfGuinness]

Is it seaweed, or is it a Sea Dragon?

[purr]

1. Those are so neat looking... I'd start up a sea horse tank, but

I currently have all my Saltwater fish and corals in my 75 gallon :( They are so beautiful!!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

3. What do you have?

Mr GoG used to keep several small saltwaters going. Maybe we'll try again when the kids have gotten big enough to not worry about foreign matter like chocolate milk getting into the tanks...

[purr]

7. I have....

Mated pair Clarkii clowns (with a bunch of babies stuck in the overflow!!)
Blue tang
Scopas tang
Scooter Blenny
Watchman Goby
Volitan Lionfish
Urchin
Various snails and crabs
2 Shrimp

Torch coral
Frogspawn
Christmas tree coral
miscellaneous polyps and watermelon mushrooms
Pulsing Xenia

Hers a pic:

[GoddessOfGuinness]

10. Wow! What a great tank!

Lionfish are so beautiful! Does your kitty like to watch?

[purr]

11. She fishes!!!!

I hope the lionfish doesnt get her.. that could be BAD!!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

13. Jeeeze yeah!

Mr GoG got nabbed once a long time ago, and ended up in the ER...

[purr]

15. OMG.. what did they do? What happened??

I try to tick him off - I'll stick an eraser end of a pencil in a tank and he attacks it. Its pretty scary IMO.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

16. They removed some spines

gave him a tetanus shot and pain killers. But they told him he was lucky it wasn't worse.

I would think a kitty could really end up in bad shape, especially if he got stung close to a nerve...

[purr]

17. and to think I only thought they were dangerous if you were allergic to

bees!!!

I'm worried about my male clown... when he gets bigger my clown will be able to fit right in his mouth :(

[GoddessOfGuinness]

19. I'm not sure how they get along...

You might want to start a smaller tank for the clown and some non-aggressives.

Mr GoG had clowns, some damselfish, and a cute little shrimp in a 25 gallon. They seemed happy.

[purr]

20. I love my clowns.. they are beautiful.

I was thinking of getting a corner 90 gallon acrylic for my new addition. I have a corner space that is completely wasted and a 90 bow would look absolutely wonderful in it. I have a 220 gallon in my garage but its waaaay too huge to put anywhere :( If I get my basement finished, I'll turn it into a shark tank :)

[GoddessOfGuinness]

21. Invite us over when you do!

That'd be cool!

[purr]

23. are you in the Pittsburgh, Pa region??

[GoddessOfGuinness]

25. No, but

I keep telling Tigereye I want to visit sometime. Pittsburg is such a cool city!

[tigereye]

35. hey my ears are burning

Pittsburgh is pretty cool. Just a bit grey at times...

I didn't know purr was another Pittsburgher...

[tigereye]

36. I am

I live just outside the city

where are you, purr? Did I meet you at the Pgh meetup in the summer?

[purr]

42. I live in north huntingdon/irwin area

I couldnt make the meetup.. I was about to have my son and didnt feel too hot :(

[tigereye]

49. there are some really nice Duers out your way -

there seem to be a lot more Westmorelanders on DU than people who live in Allegheny County.
:hi:

Hope you and your little one are well. Maybe we will meet you at the next meetup. :)

[purr]

51. I never met any of them either :)

I'd love to tho!

[ForrestGump]

2. One of my favorites: tiny; almost impossible to see

[GoddessOfGuinness]

6. That is adorable!

Looks as if he was designed specifically to blend with that type of coral...

[ForrestGump]

18. Yep -- the species wasn't even described until 1970 (I think)

when a Japanese dude doing research on sea fans noticed some specks floating around in the pails of water that held his collections.

I've taken underwater pictures of these little dudes and they are basically impossible to keep your eye on when you go from finally finding them on the sea fan to looking through the viewfinder. Amazing.

[merh]

22. and it is so sweet and innocent looking.

Are you sure you should be posting that in the lounge. :freak:

[ForrestGump]

33. I'll protect it

:D

:hi:

[merh]

41. Please do.

:hug:

:hi:

[radwriter0555]

43. The Sunfish is my FAVORITE fishie of all time, SQUARE. Yes, he's

SQUARE!!!!

[XemaSab]

44. The mola mola

They're really cool!!!!

Always worth a look when you're offshore.

They float up to the surface and birds congregate around them.

I've heard it suggested that they go to the surface intentionally so the birds can pick off parasites, but I don't know if that's true.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

52. That almost doesn't look real!

I've heard of sunfish before, but never saw one. I always assumed they were standard "fish" shaped critters. Thanks for the great pics!

[Deja Q]

4. Shouldn't I be in there?

Wait, I'm not amazing... oh well!

Of course, 'amazing' has to be defined...

[GoddessOfGuinness]

8. So post your pic!

:D

[Whoa_Nelly]

5. Something we ALL have

on our body hair and eyelashes:

Demodex folliculorum is one of two species of microscopic mites now considered to be ubiquitously present on humans. Both mites, D.folliculorum and D.brevis, are host-specific obligate ectoparasites living respectively in the niche environments of hair follicles and sebaceous glands around the face and head. Generally their presence goes totally unnoticed but in some cases heavy infestations are believed to be the cause of certain forms of hair loss and such skin complaints as 'acne rosacea'.



Adult Demodex folliculorum on surface of skin



Three D.folliculorum 'tails'
protruding from a hair follicle x426

For most of their existence the mites live head-down in a follicle feeding on secretions and general cell debris. An individual female may lay up to 25 eggs in a single follicle and as the mites develop they become tightly packed like cigars in a cigar drum. When mature, the mites vacate the follicle, mate and find a new follicle in which to lay their eggs. The whole cycle taking between 14 to 18 days.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

9. Oh my god...

You mean we've ALL got COOTIES???

[Whoa_Nelly]

12. Yeah

:scared:

Means that all the beautiful celebs have these, too!

Damn...kinda busts up my fantasies!

[GoddessOfGuinness]

14. They're not

terribly sexy...

[alarcojon]

24. How about the spiny headed worm?

http://www.mos.org/sln/sem/worm.html

[GoddessOfGuinness]

26. What a nasty li'l booger!

Looks like some kind of painful uhmmm...unmentionable.

[Reciprocity]

27. How about crab the size of toilet seats.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

28. Is that an Alaskan King crab?

Sire wouldn't want to step on one of those!

[Reciprocity]

31. Yes.

There are several varieties of king crab: red, blue, and brown or golden.
King or stone crabs occur around the world. Commercial fisheries have existed for them in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Australia, South Georgia and Falkland Islands, Argentina, and Chile.The king crab, as its name might imply, is the largest of all the commercially important crab species and is always in high demand. An adult king crab might reach lengths of up to 2.5 meters (8 ft). King crabs are unique in that they have only 6 legs while most crabs have 8.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

37. Hmm..Six legs...

Is it considered a true crab, then?

[Reciprocity]

50. Yes.

Definition: This delicious giant can measure up to 10 feet, claw to claw, and it isn't unusual for it to weigh 10 to 15 pounds. The delicately flavored meat is snowy white and edged with a beautiful bright red. It's found in the northern Pacific and because it's most abundant around Alaska and Japan, it is also referred to as Alaska king crab and Japanese king crab. Because the species is rapidly dwindling, the catch of king crab is rigidly quota-controlled.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

53. I read that there are a number of favorite seafoods

that need to be quota-controlled or we'll risk endangering the species. :(

[Blue_In_AK]

32. Hey, I think we ate him New Year's Eve. n/t

[Reciprocity]

57. Makes me wonder what size pot they use to cook one?

[CanuckAmok]

58. Okay, between us and that... we're going in the pot.

[alarcojon]

29. The coelocanth

[GoddessOfGuinness]

38. That's a mighty big molly!

[Redstone]

30. Well, the red handfish is a bit odd.

Looks a bit startled, doesn't he?

Redstone

[GoddessOfGuinness]

39. Is he a walker?

Looks like he must spend some time on land...

[Redstone]

45. No, not like a mudskipper; they "walk" on the floor of the ocean.

Redstone

[Reciprocity]

34. Takahe Back from the dead.

New Zealand

Until the 1940’s, the takahe was thought to be extinct: none had been seen for 50 years. A survey of the Murchison Mountains shortly after the rediscovery in 1948 revealed about two hundred breeding pairs of birds. By 1981 only 120 birds remained.

“we returned to where we had found the tracks on our last trip. Suddenly, quite near this spot, a large blue-green bird stepped out from among the snow tussock. And there, no more than twenty metres away from us stood a living Notornis, the bird that was supposed to be extinct.”
Dr Geoffry Orbell,
20 November 1948.

Takahe habitat in Fiordland

The color of this bird is awesome.
http://www.muellerworld.com/pcd4522/takahe-99.html

[GoddessOfGuinness]

40. Wonderful!

What beautiful country, too!
I hope they can bring it back from the brink...

[pinniped]

46. Monterey Bay Aquarium has some of those.

www.mbayaq.org

These strange dudes are there, too:

Chambered Nautilus
Nautilus pompilius

[GoddessOfGuinness]

54. I love the Chambered Nautilus!

They used to have them at the National Zoo. I'm not sure if they still do or not.

[Beware the Beast Man]

47. The video in this past Lounge thread amazed me:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=4306226

[alarcojon]

48. Wow!

Those are quite the camouflaging skills.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

55. I never realized they were such chameleons!

VERY cool!

[sakabatou]

56. Creatures of the deep

[GoddessOfGuinness]

60. Very cool!

I love the first pic especially!

[Reciprocity]

59. We ate these bugs on our trip to Brisbane Australia.

A local delicacy Down Under, the Moreton Bay bug is not a bug at all, but a saltwater crustacean that looks a bit like a bug or a lobster that's head has been stepped on. They are also known as bay lobsters, shovelnose lobsters or squat lobsters. They are found along the entire coast of the northern half of Australia.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

61. Do they taste like lobsters?

That critter reminds me of the crayfish migration we witnessed a couple of months ago. They were climbing a dam...determined li'l boogers!

[Reciprocity]

62. Yes, the meat is sweet and not as strong as lobster.

We were visiting friends in Brisbane during their winter our summer. Anyhoo, they were sharing with use what they eat for Christmas dinner. Which was a huge platter of seafood from a popular local seafood market called Sam's.

More on bugs.
Moreton Bay Bugs are found along the entire coast of the northern half of Australia. They live on the sea bed, in turbid inshore coastal waters from 10 metres to 30 metres in depth over soft, unconsolidated mud and fine sand and silt particles.

Two spawning or more are common and take place during the summer. A female can produce between 16,000 and 60,000 (average 32,000) eggs per brood.

They are active at night, remaining buried in bottom sediment with only their eyes and antennules or "feelers" exposed during the day.

They are highly mobile and can move great distances (up to 50 nautical miles) oh, and they travel backwards when in a hurry.

Adults are selective foragers and will capture live prey including fish, crustaceans and molluscs.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

63. Mmm...Looks tasty!

[China_cat]

64. Our aquarium here in Charleston

had a full exhibit of both leafy and weedy sea dragons. They started with very young ones and we got to watch them grow over the 18 months they were there. Really neat animals.

[GoddessOfGuinness]

65. It's been a long tim since I visited Charleston...

I didn't know you had an aquarium!
Charleston is one of my favorite cities. :hi: