Tag: ocean

zsl-edge-of-existence:

There has been much speculation as to the purpose of the sawfish’s saw.  Speculation was that they were used to literally saw chunks of meat from large prey such as whales or dolphins.  In fact, the saw is lined with thousands of sensory organs that allow the sawfish to detect the electric fields emitted by living creatures, thus helping them track prey.  Once a fish is detected, the sawfish will strike the prey with a sideways slash of the saw, stunning it, or else use the saw to pin it to the sea floor.  While the saw is not used specifically to cut prey, a fish may be sliced in half by a particularly vigorous swipe.  The saw is also used to defend the sawfish against large predators such as sharks, or in battles with rivals.  

In contrast to stories of sawfish cutting through the bottom of boats or sawing humans in half, sawfish are known to be docile and harmless animals when left undisturbed.

loki-laufysbum:

balloonpony:

tyleroakley:

peterfromtexas:

Next time you go walking around barefoot in the water…

NOPE

No worries, that’s a Bobbit Worm. They live on the ocean floor, and unless you’re able to withstand a ton of pressure, you likely wouldn’t have your toesies nipped off by one since they live deeper than people walk on the ocean floor.

Bobbit Worms are kinda cool. And they were named after Laurena Bobbit, who cut off her abusive husband’s penis and threw it out of her car window as she drove off.

Wait.

cool-critters:

Purple-ring topsnail (Calliostoma annulatum)

The purple-ring topsnail is a medium-sized sea snail with gills and an operculum.This is a sublittoral marine gastropod mollusk in the family Calliostomatidae. This snail lives off of the Pacific coast of North America.his species is fairly omnivorous, feeding seasonally on kelp, sessile fauna like bryozoans, and detritus.

photo credits:

Peter Liu Photography, Ed Bierman

Source: cool-critters

cool-critters:

Royal starfish (Astropecten articulatus)

The royal starfish is a West Atlantic sea star of the family Astropectinidae.The species of starfish Astropecten articulatus, commonly known as the
Royal Starfish is characterized by its bold colors. It has a purple
granulated disk, which is the central region of the sea star, and the
purple color continues to extend to its five flat rays, which are its
arms. A. articulatus feeds by swallowing its food whole and digesting it in
its stomach, like other members of the genus Astropecten. However,
unlike other species in the same genus, A. articulatus consumes
significantly more organisms.A. articulatus also feeds on a diverse number of organisms. 

photo credits:

Mark Walz

Source: cool-critters

ha'apai express #1https://embedr.flickr.com/assets/client-code.js

fuckyeahaquaria:

Humpback Whale | 

Megaptera novaeangliae

Humpback whales are known for their haunting songs, which are complex sequences of moans, howls and cries that often continue for hours, according to National Geographic. Only male whales sing, so scientists think they are trying to attract potential mates.

A male may sing for hours, repeating the song several times. All males in a population sing the same song, but the songs of each population are different. For example, whales in the North Atlantic sing one song, while whales in the North Pacific sing another song, according to the NOAA. Songs gradually change from year to year.

Songs can be heard 20 miles (30 km) away, according to the NOAA.