From the Glass Cabinet

Jason R. guessed correctly that the object from the glass cabinet was the raptorial claw from a Mantis shrimp, or Stomatopod. Maybe it wasn't fair to ask the Family without a few more identifying features. Here are a couple of pictures of the dead, crusty animal the claw came from which was actually from a molt (shedded exoskeleton) from the former Squilly- see long ago Tank Diary- he was awesome- but bad.

photos copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

I feel fairly confident that this is one of the Gonodactylidae family (Gonodactylus genus) but if anyone feels strongly otherwise please let me know. I used Stomatopod Crustacea of the Western Atlantic (Manning) and Crustacea.net and a couple field guides for i.d. He was found in a trawl off North/South Carolina.

There are two general raptorial claw types with mantis shrimps- those used for spearing which have some pretty mean looking "teeth" on the dactylus (last segment of the claw) and those used for smashing or crushing, like the one pictured in the previous "From the Glass Cabinet" post. The "smashers" use the rounded base of the dactylus on unsuspecting crunchy invertebrates like crabs or gastropods.

So, Jason, let me know your poison (poem style and topic). And since I didn't give enough to go on for family, I'll throw in a crappy drawing anyway!

From The Glass Cabinet

Time for some guessing! What is this item from the glass cabinet?
photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

As usual, the winner will receive a haiku or limerick (my personal favorite) about the invertebrate of their choosing. But you must be specific (like "tentacle of a cuttlefish" but NOT like "some part of a squooshy marine thingy") and if your name happens to be Kevin Z., who guesses most everything swiftly and correctly, then you also have to guess the Family that the once owner of this thing belonged to. For ANYONE who includes the correct family name (even Kevin) I will also draw a picture to go with your poem. And if you've seen my drawings you're probably thinking, "Well, that's pretty lame!" and it is, but that's all I've got to offer...unless you have another idea- I'll gladly take suggestions.

Good Luck!

Tank Diaries

Meet "The Menace", the newest member of the salt water tank.
photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

Oh, he looks innocent enough but he's really not. He stays hunkered down in his corner of the tank most of the day, appearing to be contemplating life, but the second I turn my back he does something like this:

photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

Poor Jerry! The Menace had him squeezed so tight that all Jerry could do was deliver some feeble, little pokes to the Menace's big, mean face. The next day I came in and Jerry had switched to the biggest moon shell in the tank. Here's Jerry ready for a showdown with The Menace. "Try wrapping your big meaty paws around me now! Bring it on!" (Jerry really looks a little scared to me.)

photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

But The Menace just stared intimidatingly at him and now Jerry hardly ever comes out. He just gets his piece of shrimp and eats it inside his too big shell. Here's the Menace walking on the starfish and Porky:

photos copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

Another time I came in and Spike was looking distressed, all of his spines pointing down. Then I watched the large oyster shell that he was sitting on start to slam up and down. The Menace was underneath pushing the big shell up and dropping it. Then he reached up to try to mess with Spike. Look close and you can see his claw to the right.


photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

I have found now that if I sneak in at night and flip on the lights real quick I can catch The Menace cruising the tank. Who knows what torture he inflicts in the dark! I don't think his reign of terror will last forever though. Here's the echinoderms moving in for a little prickly revenge (really just a traffic jam- The Menace was not phased in the least by the gang of three.)

photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

Invertebrate Limerick

I thought the best way to bring in the new year was to share with you a few limericks I wrote about the anuses (ani?) of some of our invertebrate friends. But before I do, here is an up close and personal look at the anus of Spike, one of the sea urchins in my tank. (Sorry, Spike!)
photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

The flower shape is comprised of four genital plates with gonopores (holes in the plates where the eggs or sperm, in Spike's case, are released) and a madreporite (opening to water vascular system). The center of the "flower" is the periproct and the anus is right in the middle of that. Enough anatomy! Here are the limericks!

Gastropod Anus Limerick
The gastropod’s nicely “turned out”
In its calcium carbonate house,
But it has the misfortune
(due to visceral torsion)
Of pooping right next to its mouth.

Anemone Anus Limerick
The anemone (and those of its phylum)
Has an “in” hole the same as its “out” one.
It MUST shit before
It can eat one piece more,
A real gastronomic conundrum!

Sea Cucumber Anus Limerick
The sea cucumber’s anus is neat
It can shoot sticky threads many feet!
A fish can live in its butt
(Go ahead- look it up!)
It even uses its asshole to breathe!

Hope you enjoyed those. And remember: Out with the old and in with the new! And to illustrate that new year's sentiment, here is a picture of Spike pooping.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Looks like snow! Happy New Year!

Tank Diaries

Starfish doing sit ups.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Starfish walking on "tip toes".

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

The fold-over.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Inverta-bits

Here is my foot and a big, delicious piece of sea pork.


Sea pork is a colony of animals- clusters of zooids encased in a yummy gelatinous matrix. You should try slicing one up and making some sea pork cutlets in, perhaps, some sausage gravy with a side salad of sea pansies. (Disclaimer: No- don't do that.) I do not think you should eat sea pork (or sea pansies, for that matter) unless you are really hung over. Then you can put the sea pork in a blender with some clamato and vodka. NO- don't do that either! I don't know what would happen to you if you ate or drank sea pork but it might be bad and I don't want to be held responsible.

So here is another look at the compound tunicate (from the group of animals known as Ascidians)- early relatives of yours by the way. Did you know you were in the same taxonomic phylum as sea squirts and sea pork? Well you are. In fact knowing this may put some things in perspective in regard to some people you've always wondered about.


This stuff is really dense and rubbery. I've seen it in hues of pink and orange and white. You'll find smaller colonies than the one here but they can reach a couple of meters across. You could feed a family of ten with just one giant piece of sea pork! (As I said earlier- No- don't do that.) But who does eat sea pork? Stingrays like it- those rotten little bastards. Here is another picture of my foot a few days after being whapped by a stringray.


I was just minding my own business, poking around in the shallows with my little dip net on a beach in S. Carolina when- whammo! I didn't even see the stingray but blood was squirting everywhere (well, okay, maybe not squirting- but it was dripping profusely) and in about 30 seconds pain bad enough that, according to my son, caused me to yell "God Damnit!" and "Son of a bitch!" in front of what I'm sure were some very lovely families enjoying a nice evening on the beach. (Sorry!)

Finally, I wanted to mention some (of the many!) marine invertebrates that have names that start with "sea". There are some pretty ones: sea pansy, sea heart, sea feather, and sea star. And there are some funny ones: sea mouse, sea walnut, sea bat, sea gooseberry, sea lemon and sea pussy (stop snickering- it was probably named way back when that was a perfectly innocent word) and sea weener (ha! ha! I just made that up!). But there is a sea rod. (I'm not very mature, am I?)

Invertebrate Limerick

Here is Limerick #1 for the illustrious snapping shrimp.

He looks like a peanut-sized lobster
A miniature decapod mobster
His pistol claw poised
To pop off a loud noise
and scare away mean arthropodsters

The snapping or pistol shrimp have one very big claw that makes a REALLY loud pop when it is closed. It can scare away predators and stun prey. It is not, however, the snapping together of the pincers that makes the noise but the popping of a cavitation bubble caused by the speed at which the claw snaps shut. Here is a link where you can download a very cool video of this happening: http://is.gd/4UECc (scroll down to contents and "video material").

Here is limerick #2, specifically about Alpheus heterochaelis, the big-clawed snapping shrimp.

Alpheus and black-clawed Panopeus
Live together in sweet symbiosis
The crab digs the hole
The shrimp stands patrol
Of their “marriage” they’re making the mostest

Here's a really terrible drawing I did of A. heterochaelis and Panopeus herbstii, the black-clawed mud crab. I know I said I might draw the snapping shrimp playing poker but they had already finished the game. Alpheus won as you can see from the ace of spades stuck in his hat band- he had a boat- bullets over snowmen. He's cool, huh?! I wish I had a red fedora like that.

It's not uncommon for snapping shrimp to have symbiotic relationships with other animals- vertebrates (gobies, eg.) and invertebrates alike (even anemones!). In areas of the coast where big-clawed snapping shrimp inhabit oyster reefs, they often share burrows with black-clawed mud crabs (see the crab in the hole?). Apparently, Alpheus is not able to dig nice burrows around the hard oyster beds like Panopeus can. The crab, in return, gets a personal warning alarm in the form of loud popping.

So there you go Kevin. I hope the two limericks and my crappy drawing made up for no invertebrate sonnet.

Tank Diaries

The results are in from the Porky experiment. The question was "Will Porky 'wear' non-organic items?" and here is the answer:

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker


photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker


Jerry was very intrigued with the storm trooper helmet, too- but who wouldn't be?

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

And here is just a funny picture of Jerry hugging his dinner.
photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

So.... I was supposed to post an invertebrate sonnet for Kevin Z. about snapping shrimp. Well, Kevin, I'm sorry to say I over estimated my poetry abilities. Here is the site I used to find sonnet rules: http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/writing-a-sonnet.html. I just didn't know, Kevin! And I tried to do iambic pentameter and get my quatrains going but ALAS! Twas not to be! So, I humbly ask your forgiveness and offer you instead a double limerick. And I'll even draw you a picture of a snapping shrimp with a hat... playing poker or something...

Friday night- all about snapping shrimp.

Tank Diaries

I am afraid it is a case of unrequited love. Here is Jerry hugging Chapeau (or perhaps trying to put him in a choke hold?).

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Hang in there Jerry- maybe one day Chapeau will be yours.

So this week I am starting a little experiment with Porky. I have been putting new small shells in the tank and usually within a few days he is "wearing" them (holding them on with his tube feet, that is). Here are a couple photos of Porky with those different shells:

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Instead of shells, this week I thought I would put some non-organic items in the tank to see if Porky would try them on. They include: a storm trooper mask, a lobster, a baseball bat, a light saber and a seahorse- all miniature-sized of course. Here is the selection:

I'll let you know how it goes. And please don't turn me in to PETA. Thanks.

From the Glass Cabinet

Jason R. guessed this item from the glass cabinet as an abdominal segment from the molted carapace of Panulirus argus, the Carribean spiny lobster. Here is the item next to a smaller P. argus molt.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Here is another photo of the molt- you can see how even the eyeballs shed a very thin exoskelton.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Here I must make a confession regarding the harrassment of marine animals. I was snorkeling off a beach in Key West and passed over a large boulder when I noticed two really long antennae sticking out, one on each side of the rock. I knew they belonged to a big spiny lobster who was hiding in his little "cave" under there. Anyway, I floated over the rock and grabbed each antenna between two fingers and gave a little tug- a really little one- I swear. I was just hoping the lobster would come out. But it didn't and I swam off. And that was a pretty boring story.

So Jason- I hope to hear from you soon about which marine invertebrate you would like to have a limerick written for- perhaps another cephalopod?

Here is the next item from the glass cabinet. Can anyone name the organism who's skeleton is shown here? This week's winner gets an invertebrate sonnet!

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker


Tomorrow, an update from the tank- Jerry shows Chapeau some love.

Invertebrate Limerick

J. Rogers guessed the two invertebrates on and in the moon snail shell. ON the shell was a colonial hydroid called "snail fur" or Hydractinia echinata. You don't see the tiny, living polyps extended in the picture, but the colony's spiky sort of exoskeleton covering the shell. The animal IN the shell was a flat-clawed hermit crab, Pagurus pollicarus.

For his winning guesses, J. will be receiving a custom limerick about the blue mussel, Mytilus edulis. Hope you like it and it makes your mouth water!

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

To the Blue Mussel

His byssal threads grip really great
(that he shot through his shell’s pedal gape)
But you’ve got white wine and butta
(oh, the poor little mutha)
He’s now moules marinière on your plate!

Here is a link to a delicious sounding recipe for Moules au roquefort: http://www.marmiton.org/Recettes/Recette_moules-au-roquefort_36429.aspx

Get your blue cheese and French to English dictionary ready!

Inverta-bits

This is a new category. Basically, all the weird bits that don't go under any of the other categories.

So, I like to write down certain scientific terms that I come across that I've either never heard before or that I think are funny. They are just words that bring a little joy to my day, and hopefully to yours, too. Here's a few that I'm going to run all together in a little inverta-word stew.

Ramate Malleate Forcipate Incudate

Anal cone Ovarian balls Uterine bell Tentacular crown

Ciliated gutter Ciliary pit Germovitellaria

Lemnisci Lorica Obturaculum

I love biology.

I also love the many ways in which our invertebrate friends play "hide the gonopod". Two ways in particular that I, personally, would find extremely upsetting were they to occur amongst our species.

The first is hypodermic impregnation. Oh my god! Anybody with a penis at the ready could just come up to you and poke you anywhere on your body- your arm, your back, the side of your head- and inseminate you! It is truly a terrifying thought. But pretty great in the world of invertebrates where politeness, etiquette, and general civility don't get in the way of passing on your genes. Male flatworms and rotifers, for example, don't have to worry about the girl flatworm or rotifer saying "Oh no you didn't just stick your copulatory organ through my body wall!" and then getting smacked with, say, a baseball bat.

The second is the most appalling and TOTALLY GENIUS cement plug in the vagina. Wow, if there ever was a way to ensure that the next guy, or in this case, the next acanthocephalan (nasty little fresh water and marine parasite) didn't get his gametes in the mix- this is it. More likely, I would guess, to keep the sperm inside the female. But still... can you imagine the conversation between human partners? "Heeeeey!!! What the... ?! Did you just put a cement cap in my uterine bell?!! Get out of here you deposit feeding son-of-a-sipunculan!"

I hope this inverta-bit encouraged everyone to try new things with their special someone. (Or maybe you better not...)

That's Gross (but cool)

OOOOOOOOOO! SPOOOOOOOOOOOOOKY! What could be shooting little chocolate sprinkles up through a hole on the beach? Don't eat them- it's a trick! Those delicious looking treats are POOOOOOOOOOOP!

photo and video copyright 2008 by Heather Stoker

There's a GHOOOOOOOOST shrimp down in the scary dark hole and these are its little fecal pellets. You might be saying "Why should we believe it's a ghost shrimp! We can't even see it!" And you won't! The ghost shrimp, Callianasa sp., this one most likely C. major, has a burrow that can reach down 6 feet. When it feels the urge, the ghost shrimp comes up to the top, turns around and shoots its poop out of the hole and onto the beach where you find it and say "Hmmm. Interesting." It's a shame everyone's poop doesn't come nicely packaged as perfect little smooth cylinders.

And here is a photo to guess and a hint (ALREADY ANSWERED):

HINT: Crustacean and Cnidarian (the fuzzy bit). There's one other animal on the side of the moon snail shell, but I don't have a better photo and can't remember much about it other than that it was a hard structure- maybe a young slipper shell...

Bring on the guesses! Tomorrow- funny parts- invertebrate parts, of course!

Tank Diaries

There is a lot of pigishness going on lately in the tank. Let's start off with another still frame video- this is about 60 pictures taken over a couple minutes. Incidentally, I accused Spike of stealing. In this clip, Porky already has a piece of shrimp he's eating (though you can't see it- already under him, at his mouth) and Spike was trying to work his piece down to his mouth when Porky reached over with his tube feet to take it.

video copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

And Jerry has been even worse! A total greedy pig. Jerry had just finished eating a large piece of shrimp. The starfish was heading towards HIS piece (which had slipped through his arms) and Jerry came up and stole it. The piece was large causing Jerry to fall over. Here he is eating upside down.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

He didn't even attempt to upright himself and stayed there eating for over an hour. Oh Jerry. But wait! There's more! I gave the starfish another piece of shrimp and look what Jerry tried to do!

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

He spent ten minutes trying to steal the starfish's shrimp- contorting himself and stretching his legs in between the glass and the starfish. Here he is trying to scare the starfish out of his food.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

In the end, Jerry did not get a THIRD piece of shrimp. But he did have to put on a bigger shell until the bloating subsided and even considered this really big moon snail shell. Hey, everyone needs a pair of fat pants.

Photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Including the starfish. This is how I feel after I eat a really big, good meal.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Anyway, everyone got fed in the end.

It's almost Halloween and Porky is thinking about going as Princess Leah- what do you think of his costume?

Photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

I still haven't gotten any guesses on the last item from the glass cabinet or the photo of the two mystery invertebrates on/in the moon shell! Don't forget- the winner gets to pick a topic for the invertebrate Limerick!

Something for the Kids

Tomorrow- more adventures from the tank! Spike and Jerry get caught stealing!

Shell of the Week

Et voici la coquille de la semaine- la patelle.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Pourquoi en français? Because (ou, parce que!) this is a French limpet. Much more exciting than an American limpet because I got to go to France and I found it on a French beach (la plage de Trestrignel in Perros Guirec) and French limpets are bigger than any limpet I ever found here, in America, the country with inferior limpets. I was worried all the way to the airport, chanting silently, “Sil vous plait, customs people, don’t take my huge limpets. Mon Dieu! I will die if you take my limpets!” Needless to say, they did not. I came home with about twenty common European limpets (Patella vulgata). Here are some of the patellids in the wild.

photo copyright 2007 by HeatherStoker

Here is a photo to give you a better idea of how big they are… The biggest is almost 2 and 1/2 inches (over 6 cm).

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

The shells are also very deep. Here are the lovely limpets nested together.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

What’s so cool about limpets is that they dig out a little limpet-shaped spot on their rock (with the help of limpet-made acid). When they go off to feed they leave a mucous trail of their personal scent so they can find their way home to their customized divot. Limpets have a very strong foot (they have to in order to hang on to their rock under crashing, pulling waves- especially in France where the waves are much more dramatic and impassioned). It would take a lot of pulling to dislodge a limpet. But if you follow my empty shell policy you wouldn’t be a limpet yanker anyway. If, however, you do not subscribe to this policy, or perhaps you need some limpets for your bouillabaisse, Peterson suggests sneaking up on the limpet and quickly slicing under its foot with a very sharp knife.

Here is a sign on the beach saying “Don’t molest the limpets!” (and something about never letting your dog on the beach even if it’s on a leash).

photo copyright 2007 by Heather Stoker

Love ya’ll, les patelles! Vraiment!

From the Glass Cabinet

What it be? (ALREADY ANSWERED!)

This one is probably a little too easy, but that's okay. It's the weekend and everyone's brain needs a rest. This week's winner can pick the invertebrate and one word (it can even be a bad word!) that has to be incorporated into the Limerick (or other style poem).

Here is a little stop animation of my starfish. This was back when Squilly, the mantis shrimp, was still alive. If you watch closely you can see him hanging upside down from the opening of the whelk shell- like a vampire!

That's Gross (but cool)

Today’s gross but cool entry was going to be about how some sea hares have penises on the sides of their heads AND vaginas (in around the usual location) and, because they are simultaneous hermaphrodites, can form mating chains. So if you had 5 sea hares mating it would go (from front to back) girl, boy/girl, boy/girl, boy/girl, boy. In humans this mating technique might be somewhat shocking and even offensive to behold but in squooshy, little sea hares it’s just plain cute- all stacked up on each other, little “wings” folded up... It really is quite an economical way to get your gametes out there. But I’m not going into any more detail as I think I’ve been talking entirely too much about penises and invertebrate sex lately. (Though the topic will be revisited I am sure.) So instead I thought I might recount one of several gross experiences I have had doing biology work.

I did the usual stint as an aquarium volunteer. At first I worked at the touch tank where I kept my sanity by having imaginary conversations with the younger, not so gentle, clientele. “It might be a good idea to stop yanking on that horseshoe crab’s tail. It’s highly venomous and if he gets really irritated he’ll catapult himself out of the water and latch onto your face and suck your brains out through your eye socket.”

Anyway, next I worked with the reptiles. Pretty far removed from my field of interest but I actually do love snakes and on my breaks I could go visit the cuttlefish. It was in the reptile care facility that I had one of the grossest moments of my life ever. EVER! I swallowed turtle crap. That’s right, turtle crap.

I was instructed to clean a big tank, that held a really cheeky diamondback terrapin, by siphoning out the water- with my mouth. Many of you, I am sure, are thinking “Wow, she’s really stupid.” And you would be correct. Anyway, I was just following orders like a good volunteer. As per instructions, I put my shirt over the sucking end (and, by the way, the tube was the diameter of a garden hose and it was long so there was a need for mighty sucking power) and I sucked and nothing happened. The turtle was watching me and I swear he was smiling. I wouldn’t be surprised if he took an extra shit special for me. So I tried again. I was even watching the hose and somehow did not see the nasty turtle water shooting up through it straight through my t-shirt and down my throat. I spit out what I could and my “mentor” assured me “No, you won’t die”, “No, you won’t get some turtle disease” and so on. So the cool part of this story? There isn’t one! It was just a really sucky moment (literally and figuratively).

Oh, and one last thing. I had to pour sugar on the surprisingly large penis of a snapping turtle with an erectile dysfunction. Who the hell knows why!? Needless to say, I was not a volunteer much longer.

Hey! I managed to talk about penises afterall!

Reminiscing about vertebrates has left an unpleasant taste in my mouth so let’s close this post with a soothing photo of an INvertebrate.
photo copyright 2007 by Heather Stoker

Heeeeeeeey… there’s actually two invertebrates here. This looks like a good guessing opportunity for someone… Any takers? You know the prize!

Invertebrate Limerick

Kevin Z. chose the tube anemone, or Cerianthid, for this Limerick's subject. The Cerianthid is not a true anemone (different taxonomic order) but a perfectly lovely invertebrate none-the-less. However, this animal, for some reason, did not prove to be a good Limerick muse. By the time I was finished with this poem, I really wished I had not run out of wine two nights ago. Anyway, here it is, Kevin. I hope you like it and appreciate the pain and suffering I experienced writing it.

Cerianthid

A house of organic con-du-it
(of cnidae and mucus he glued it).

In his tube he stays firm

Like a large, erect worm.

THE ORAL DISK!! Oops- he withdrew it.

Tomorrow... something gross...but cool!

Tank Diaries

It's time for an update on Jerry and Chapeau. Here is a photo of Chapeau. Though he is still not interested in Jerry he is doing fine. By the way, see the small circle of short tentacles in the middle of Chapeau's, um, "face"? Those are surrounding Chapeau's mouth. But guess what? It's also his anus! Cnidarians (anemones, corals, jellyfish, hydroids, etal.) have only one hole! Aren't you glad you have openings at both ends?

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Here is a picture of Jerry looking at Chapeau, wondering what Chapeau's problem is anyway? Chapeau is totally ignoring Jerry. See how he closed up? Pretty rude, Chapeau.

copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Don't feel too bad for Jerry. Here he is having fun with a piece of shell. He's pretending to shoot Chapeau with a bazooka.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

And here's Jerry checking out a Florida fighting conch shell, part of his new Fall wardrobe.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

And, finally, I leave you with a picture that probably sums up how all the animals in the tank feel about me. This is Jerry looking back over his shell shoulder at me saying "Is she still out there taking pictures? Can't she just leave us the hell alone?!"

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Hey, Jerry, it's the price you pay for free shrimp and climate control.

Tune in tomorrow for another invertebrate limerick about a burrowing anemone, as ordered by this week's winner of "What's in the Glass Cabinet", Kevin Z. He guessed correctly an Aristotle's lantern, the feeding apparatus of a sea urchin I found dead on the beach. Here is a photo of the aboral view (anus side) of the urchin:

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

And here is the oral side of the urchin after Aristotle's lantern extraction:

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Congratulations Kevin!

From the Glass Cabinet

Hmmm... Qu'est-ce que c'est? (ALREADY ANSWERED)



Tis only as big as a wee pea (the kind that come in the silver can not the big nasty bright green peas that you used to get in the school cafeteria). Good luck!

Invertebrate Limerick

Well today it is actually the un-invertebrate limerick. This is the only time I will write one about a bony thing, but a promise is a promise and JD, one of the winners who guessed an item from the glass cabinet really loves the belted sandfish, Serranus subligarius, and since she is such an awesome biologist and a very groovy person in general, I will honor her wish of a fish limerick.

First I wanted to share this Haiku unknowingly written by Peterson Field Guides (basically text directly from Atlantic Coast Fishes loosely rearranged by moi to fit the Haiku format).

belted sandfish with
belly abruptly white and
body boldly barred

And now for the un-invertebrate limerick about the lovely belted sandfish. My apologies in advance for the last word but, as you will see, I really had no choice.

Simultaneous hermaphroditism
Amongst sandfish can cause quite a schism
From he-she to she-he
Streaking males and fish orgies
Procreation by broadcasted jism.

(Told you.)

Whadya Wanna Know?

Genevieve wants to know how long a blue crab would live if we didn't interrupt its life by eating it. Good question. Blue crabs only live around 3 to 5 years. They can reach a carapace width (spine tip to spine tip on shell) of around 8 inches (females smaller than males). There are always exceptions to the rule of course.

For example, in the Cape Fear River there is a blue crab that is around 20 years old with a carapace width of around 12 feet. His name is Morpheous Orpheous. He has a girlfriend who is about 9 feet wide. Her name is Ruby Red Claw and she spends most of her time in France. He has a giant hermit crab friend from Louisiana named Larry LaRouse. Everybody loves Larry. He wears a hollowed out Volkswagen Beetle for a shell. Morpheous is also friends with the Otter Brothers, Pippy, Dippy, Skippy and Slippery (who has a somewhat unhealthy obsession with weaponry- especially hand grenades). Morpheous takes trips up the Hudson River, where he plows through dumpsters outside of bakeries in New York City looking for chocolate doughnuts (his favorite).

Okay. So in case you weren't sure, the above is not factual but a story series I made up to tell my son. I am trying to instill within him my love of invertebrates and nature in general even if it means using gross exageration, talking otters and gun battles with the alligator gang (oh yeah, I forgot to mention them- and the mermaid...).

Anyway, Genevieve, there's your answer (somewhere back there) and here's a picture of a mini coral reef made from paint chips. This is just one of the many ways I avoid doing my work:

Tune in tomorrow for another item from the Glass Cabinet and a new Limerick for one of our previous winning guessers, JD.

Crabs!

Here is a photo I took of a blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, giving birth:
photo copyright 2008 by Heather Stoker

I'm just kidding!!! It's really a blue clab cloning itself through asexual budding. Just kidding again! Did I make anybody go "What the &*#$@%!!!". Blue crabs are strictly into copulation (sexual reproduction only). And they do not pop out ginormous babies (female carries millions of fertilized eggs under her apron which she will eventually release into the ocean). This is actually a photo of a blue crab shedding (molting) its carapace. These are photos I took while doing research with a guy who runs a blue crab shedding facility. Here's another one. This is the only time I've thought of a blue crab as being cute- look at her squooshy, little, bent lateral spines. Aaaaaaaaah (noise girls make when they see puppies).

photo copyright 2008 by Heather Stoker

Though I have seen it over and over there is something fascinating and miraculous about this event that takes place about thirty times in an adult crab’s short life. The blue crab will shed, or molt, its shell when its inner body becomes too big to be contained in its rigid exoskeleton. They actually increase their body size by about 25%. In this next photo you can really see the dififference in carapace size.

photo copyright 2008 by Heather Stoker

The crab appears to be busting open, thus the common nickname of “buster crab” that is given to this animal during this stage of ecdysis. With much effort and with the aid of hydrostatic pressure from water the crab has taken in during the process of molting the blue crab then works its way backwards out of its shell. Not only does the blue crab have to wiggle all of its new legs out of their old encasings (even the skinny claw tips), its many fine gill layers and the coverings of its eye stalks must also cleanly detach from a thin exoskeleton.

The crab comes out completely soft. Here is a good closeup of one of her bent lateral spines.

photo copyright 2008 byHeather Stoker

Here are some soft shelled crabs taking a little nap together in a box. I lied again. They are waiting to be cryogenically frozen. Well not exactly. But they will be put in the refrigerator (essentially slows down crab's metabolism to stop the hardening process of the shell) on a little bed of damp newspaper and covered with a little damp newspaper blanket to keep their gills moist so they are alive when they reach the restaurant where they will be breaded and dropped, screaming, into a vat of hot oil. Just kidding again. They only moan quietly to themselves.

Photo copyright 2008 by Heather Stoker

Ultimately, the soft shell crab will end up on someone's plate with legs hanging out the sides of two slices of white bread which your child will stare at in horror thinking you are about to eat a giant, fried bug sandwich, thereby ruining any future chance your child will have of enjoying (even trying) soft shell crabs, which I hear are really delicious.

Here's to you blue crab. You're mean and nasty but we love you anyway.

Tank Diaries

This is the sacrificial clam. More precisely, a Lady-in-Waiting Venus clam, Chione intapurpurea. See its lovely, ruffley mantle?

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

This is Porky. He has very strong tube feet. He loves the clam.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

This is the starfish. He is going to eat the clam.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Here I will insert a Haiku for the starfish:

Starfish

tube feet holding tight
madreporite pumping sea
cling to fat clam snack

Holding on with his tube feet, he will position himself over the clam and then insert his eversible (sticky-outy) cardiac stomach between the shell valves (he has another stomach inside- the pyloric stomach that delivers the nutrients throughout the starfish). He will then proceed to liquify the poor lady-in-waiting until she is a slurpable soup. Mmmmmm. In case you have never had the opportunity to see the cardiac stomach of a starfish here are some pictures of the oral surface of the animal. The first is with no stomach extended. Pretty!

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Here is a picture of the cardiac stomach pushed out a little to digest a piece of shrimp I shoved between the starfish's arms while he was on the side of the tank.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Here is the starfish with his whole cardiac stomach out digesting the piece of shrimp. Cool.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Here is Porky and Spike fighting over the clam shell for any remaining morsels.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Spike steals the shell. What a pig!

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

This makes Porky mad! See how he made an angry shell face?

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Porky gets his shell in the end.

Photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

And Porky is happy again.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Invertebrate Limerick

Congratulations to Jason R., who guessed the most recent item from the glass cabinet: octocoral skeleton, frond oyster and jewel box (leafy). Jason asked that I compose a Limerick in honor of the just passed Cephalopod Awareness Days. I am quite partial to cuttlefish, so here is a Limerick dedicated to them.

The cuttlefish flashed a “Good morning!”
Hectocotylus waving fair warning
Her tentacles grabbed at
His proffered sperm packet
Chromatophores blinking “I’m horny!”

And because I love cuttlefish so much, here is an alphabet anecdote:

Clarence the cuttlefish was casually cruising the corals when he came upon a cranky crab. The crab was cantankerous as is customary of crustaceans so Clarence cautiously cuffed the clawed critter. “Crap!” cried Clarence as the crab clacked his claws at the cute cuttlefish. But Clarence was clever and quickly cloaked himself using cryptic coloration confusing the crab and conquering him with a crunch to the carapace.

And, finally, here is a drawing (sorry, not quite done) of an octopus because I love you too! (Okay, I guess I love you too squids but not as much cause you're a little creepy and untrustworthy looking and maybe even a little mean).

Thanks Jason for bringing Cephalopod Days to my attention! I will pass it on and will definitely be celebrating Squidmas this year!

Shell of the Week

This beauty is the Hawk-wing Conch, officially, Strombus raninus.


photos copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

This particular one, around 3” high (tip to tip), was an empty shell I found wedged in some rocks in Key West, Florida. This shell is a lesser representation of another Hawk-wing that was responsible for the only moment in my life that I experienced utter joy followed by utter disappointment in less than 10 seconds.

I was snorkeling over a seagrass bed where these guys like to hang out and found a beautiful, full-grown (about 5”) Hawk-wing Conch shell, fabulously pink inside its highly flared outer lip. Oh! Heart palpitations! And then I saw down inside the aperture (shell opening) the operculum pulling in, the door closing, so to speak, on the living snail inside its shell. Dang!!!! Anyway, I had to return it to the water. I know many regard removing an animal that is basically just a slug from a great shell specimen as no big deal but I look at it this way...

You’re at home in your pretty little house and someone knocks on the door and you answer it and there’s some huge, scary guy who says “Gimme your house!” And you say, “No way, dude, I live here.” And he says, “I don’t care, I want it, it’s exactly what I’ve been looking for and if I have to I’ll remove you by force.” And you say, “Well, you’re gonna have to, bubba, cause I’m really attached to my house.” And then he kills you and takes your house! Does that seem right? No, it does not! He’s just a big, greedy jerk who needs to go find a house that nobody’s living in! I’m just saying…

Anyway, back to the Hawk-wing shell. True conchs are in the family Strombidae. Here is one more photo showing the "stromboid" notch, characteristic of all adult conch species. It is the rounded indentation on the lower, outer lip (not the canal opening on the very end of the shell).


photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Tune in tomorrow to hear about the Sacrificial Clam in Tank Diaries.

From the Glass Cabinet

Here is this week's item from my collection of crunchy, hard, dead things: (ALREADY ANSWERED)







The first person to tell me the common names of the three animals whose remains are shown here will get a custom aquatic animal alphabet anecdote (see "Something for the Kids" post about Marvin the Morose Mollusk).

The only limitations are that it must be about a marine invertebrate. I'm not in the mood for fish and especially not mammals, even dolphins, since I am really irritated at their furry, terrestrial cousins- I spent a lot of time this week picking up hairballs (both free-living and regurgitated varieties).


You can even pick the first name or the title if you want, for example, "Buffy the Brave Balanus Barnacle" or "Ronnie the Rambunctious Remipede". You can make it as challenging or obscure as you want! And if you really don't care for this sort of thing I will gladly create for you a Haiku or Limerick- again of your chosen topic.


So good luck and remember- no dolphins!!

That's Gross (but cool)

For those of you who have a penis, imagine for a moment that it is ten times the length of your body. Your first reaction might be “That would be awesome!” But after you’ve had time to calm down and give the idea a little more thought you would realize you’d have no place to put your ridiculously long penis and no person to… uh… put it in (sorry). You’d have to drag it everywhere and nobody could sit next to you in the front seat of your car because your 60 foot penis would take up the whole passenger side. For those of you who don’t have a penis you are probably thinking this topic would do better under the heading “That’s Gross and Scary”. And you’d be right, UNLESS you are a barnacle in which case you’re not reading this so nevermind.

So now imagine you ARE a barnacle. You’re sessile, that is, permanently fixed to a surface, forced to forever look at the same barnacle neighbors who look just like you which is totally boring. Okay, you’re not really LOOKING at your neighbors ‘cause your head is cemented to a rock (or piling, or whale, or whatever), upside down inside your home of hard, calcareous plates, with your feathery little legs up in the air (er…water) filtering DSMs (Delicious Suspended Morsels). All of a sudden you need to mate- you HAVE to. You can’t go look for a mate- you’re stuck- you have to settle for the barnacle right next to you. Or DO you???

No you do not because (and this is the COOL part) you have a REALLY long penis, in fact the greatest schlong (scientific term) to body ratio of any animal! You can reach that barnacle way over there! Ooooh! And that one too! You can reach almost everyone in your neighborhood and that’s what you want to do- genetic diversity is good, it’s great, it’s the best way to go!!!

“Wait just a darn minute…” you say, “What if everyone around him is a boy barnacle and his poking them is completely futile?” Excellent question! “He” is not a “he” but a “he/she”. Simultaneous Hermaphroditism (most barnacle species)- the answer to sexual reproduction for the mobile-y challenged. Mother Nature is so smart!

Note: There is much conflicting info about the actual penis to body length ratio- depending on where you look (and not all sources are reliable) the estimates range from 8x to 40x body length. The latter seems unlikely. I have scoured two invert texts, a zoology text, a crustacean biology text and various field guides, none of which are specific on this topic- I’ll keep digging.

Invertebrate Limerick

Cliff actually chose a Limerick and wants one about sea cucumbers. So here it is- hope you enjoy it!

Ode to Holothuria mexicana

There was a cucumber well hung

Who went by the name Donkey Dung

into bioturbation

and gut expellation

Concombres de mer are such fun!

To see a photo of the Donkey Dung sea cucumber from the Marine Species Identification Portal go to: http://species-identification.org/species.php?species_group=caribbean_diving_guide&id=377&menuentry=soorten

In searching for inspiration for my Limerick I discovered some very interesting things. Did you know that you can order dried sea cucumbers! One seller says "Any potential buyer are encourage to meet me freely in bandung to see the products before decide to buy. Order above 1 ton will have a discount." Wow! How fast can I get to Bandung?! Which by the way is in Indonesia. It is probably no surprise that sea cucumbers are a food most enjoyed in Asian countries, China in particular. (They do seem to be enamored with aphrodesiac food things and clearly sea cucumbers have that power!)

Here is one photo I found of some of the fine echinoderm product (from http://www.himfr.com/d-p113199249662845100-Sea_Cucumber/):

YUMMY! So there is of course a fishery for these animals. Here are two interesting links that can tell you more, one from Alaska's Department of Fish and Game http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/geninfo/shellfsh/seacucumber/seacuchome.php and one from the Secretariat of the Pacific Community www.spc.int/coastfish/news/bdm/22/terney.pdf


And finally, in the event that you are planning a romantic dinner here is a link to a recipe for braised sea cucumber: http://www.chinesfoodrecipes.com/)

Something to keep in mind... this recipe gives the impression that cooking sea cucumbers is an easy thing, however, from other articles I have read regarding the prepartion of dried sea cucumbers, there can be a lot more involved than throwing them into a little sauce. For example, soaking them for days, with periodic water changes to get them tender enough to eat.
Apparently they can rehydrate to 10 times their dried size (hmmm...). So if you are brave enough to order and try eating these ugly things, good luck! And let me know how they taste!!

From the Glass Cabinet

CONGRATULATIONS! We have TWO winners. The first guess came from Cliff who thought this little tube was made by some sort of worm. Yes! And since the second guesser, JD, guessed correctly that it was an ice cream cone worm (Cistenides gouldii), then she too is a winner! Plus, I'm really in the mood to write some funny poems.

Some more information on C. gouldii. As JD mentioned, they build their tubes exactly one sand grain thick! And, not only that, they choose grains of similar size so, like brick layers, they can make the best fit possible and then mortar them together using (and this is where the analogy ends) worm-made glue. The ice cream cone worm lives inside its beautiful little tube (though the animal can come and go to look for food) which is oriented vertically under the sand, wide opening of the tube (and worm's head) facing down. The tube is a really pretty thing but the worm, like most segmented worms, ain't much to look at (though this species does have golden setae (like bristles) on its head).

So Cliff and JD, don't forget to make your poem request about the marine invertebrate of your choice. And, JD, since I know you are partial to things with scales and backbones I will allow you to choose a non-invertebrate topic for your Haiku (or Limerick or other rhyming poem) if you so desire. (I won't like it, but I'll do it!)

From the Glass Cabinet

Well, it is long past due- another item from the glass cabinet. This particular thing is really cool because of how it was made and who it was made by. So get to guessing and the offer of a custom Haiku still stands. And to promote more guessing, if you are not partial to Haikus I will gladly compose a limerick or other rhyming verse about the critter of your choosing. (ALREADY ANSWERED)

photos copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

There were no guesses from the last item posted so I will tell you what it was. Remember this guy...

photo copyright 2009 by Heathe Stoker

The photo was the molted (shedded) telson, or tail fan, from Squilly the mantis shrimp. Here it is again. Notice the attached uropods (tail legs).

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Tank Diaries

(Note: This entry will irritate anyone who doesn’t like sagas or long-windedness and hard-core biologists who are antianthropomorphizinating [new word- don’t look for it in your dictionary- it means against the act of saying things about animals like “Jerry LOVES how he looks in his striped shell” or “Spike is JEALOUS of Porky's ability to make shell faces” and then, and here’s the new part, adding “ating” onto the end of the word like changing “conversing” to “conversating”- I’m just trying to be current ]. SO…

Meet Clibanarius vittatus, otherwise known as Jerry, the striped hermit crab and newest member of the tank. Here he is (and I know it’s a he because his name is Jerry) in shell number one...

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

And here he is in his favorite tulip shell eating some bait shrimp...

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

So why is Jerry here? To know this we must flash back several months, when the saga begins.

It starts with Gonzo and Chapeau, who, in the beginning, was just referred to as “the anemone” because really he had no stylishness back then and did not resemble a hat so much as a backpack. Here is a picture of Gonzo, the long-clawed decorator crab. Totally cool- all sorts of weird stuff growing on him- his own personal garden and farm. The anemone is closed up on his back.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Eventually, Gonzo’s garden grew. Here is a picture of Gonzo and the anemone again. The anemone is really stretched out and does not seem to be aware of itself as a fashion accessory. But how could he anyway? I mean look who’s wearing him! There’s only so much the anemone can do to make Gonzo look good. It’s like trying to get your slobby roommate dressed up to go out somewhere other than the quiki mart for nachos and a big gulp. It is like, as my husband so eloquently describes this condition, trying to polish a turd.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Gonzo, as his crops became prolific, started to stuff food, including Ulva (sea lettuce) or little pieces of fish or shrimp into the nooks and crannies of his legs. He would even try to steal the anemone’s food as shown in the picture below.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Enter Squilly. I am not sure to what species of mantis shrimp Squillly belongs, perhaps one of the Squilla genus (hence the name “Squilly”). But anyway, Gonzo pretty much just hung out on the edge of one of the whelk shells in the tank, suspended as if hovering on the precipice of a cliff, arms outstretched, awaiting manna from heaven. And Squilly, being a hunter, started becoming very interested in Gonzo, especially when Gonzo started sticking his leftovers on himself. Here is a photo of Squilly nonchalantly passing in front of Gonzo way back when. I believe he was plotting murder even then.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Pretty soon, Squilly started lurking around Gonzo whenever Gonzo was eating. He would dart at Gonzo and other than waving his legs and pushing his tiny ineffectual claws at Squilly there was not much Gonzo could do to protect his booty (in both senses of the word). Squilly would grab the goods and go, and, adding insult to injury, occasionally smack Gonzo with one of his raptorial claws so hard you could hear the pop! Here is a (not so good) photo of Squilly approaching Gonzo.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

I don’t know what happened that fateful night. Maybe Gonzo gave Squilly some obscene gesture sending Squilly into some murderous rage. But that puts the blame on Gonzo. And I think, really, Squilly could not satisfy his killer instincts by merely stealing already dead shrimp. His lust for a fresh kill was directed towards the only real choice in the tank- the skinny, ugly, defenseless guy (who, by the way, DID have a slightly persnickety attitude- but, again, beside the point). Anyway, the next morning I looked in the tank as usual and was confused when I saw the anemone, alone on an empty whelk shell. Here is a picture (a little blurry)…

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

I was confused, then panicked, as I realized Gonzo was not in one of his favorite spots. He was nowhere to be seen, and then it all became clear. There on the tank floor I beheld the remains of the massacre, evidence of a heinous crime… LEG BITS! Noooooooooo! And in that moment Squilly ceased to be my tied-for-second favorite animal in the tank. Here is a picture of Squilly, saying “What? What did I do?”

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

My hope was that the anemone and beautiful Tank, my calico box crab, would find each other and want to spend some quality symbiosifying (another new word) time together. It was meant to be… just look at Tank’s amazing shell- even Spike can’t help but touch it in awe as shown in this picture.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

And just to show how cosmopolitan and confident Tank is in herself, which you have to be to pull off high fashion, here is a picture of her proudly displaying her hairy armpits.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

It was inevitable that the anemone, now Chapeau, would become a couture accoutrement on the back of Tank. What doesn’t go good with leopard print? Uh… nevermind. Anyway, after the demise of Gonzo, Chapeau had a new place to park his pedal disk. Here is a picture of Chapeau with Fez styling (really just pigged out on a BIG piece of shrimp).

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Everything was harmonious. And then Squilly died. Don’t have any idea why- Karma? And it gets worse… Tank gets a black necrotic disease (bacteria or parasite) that eats through her shell and SHE died (two weeks ago). Very sad day… except for the urchins who were descending on her like vultures. Here is one of the last pictures I have of Tank. She’s telling Porky to back off!

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

So I removed Tank to a smaller aquarium so I would not have to watch the urchins eat my favorite animal and in the hope that the anemone would move off of her. And things got worse! It did not occur to me that Chapeau would get pulled into the filter tube- the slotted “pipe” that sticks down into the water (pulls the water up and into filter). So the next morning I find Chapeau, the top quarter of his body and tentacles sucked through various slits in the filter pipe. He looked mangled. I tried to gently pull him out but with no success- didn’t even budge a little. I thought he must surely be dead. So at least trying to salvage my filter (I know it sounds heartless) I tossed the plastic pipe with Chapeau into the aquarium and figured the urchins would do their scavenger magic thereby freeing up my filter part.

Next morning, the filter tube is all clean… AND THERE’S CHAPEAU ON THE SIDE OF A ROCK!!! I couldn’t believe it! He was fairly misshapen but clearly alive. After a couple of days he was looking pretty good and even ate some shrimp. But Spike seemed to be eyeballing him (okay- he doesn’t have eyeballs but you know what I mean. It just doesn’t sound right to say chemo-sensing him). So I place a couple of large whelk shells around Chapeau in such a way that the urchin couldn’t maneuver into the space that Chapeau now occupied. Enter Jerry. (Hang in there- it’s almost over!!) Here is Jerry with Chapeau in the background.

I thought Chapeau, being a hermit crab anemone, might be happier on the back of a hermit crab. However, there are particular species that they prefer to attach to, such as the giant red hermit and the flat clawed hermit- neither of which I could find at the water I had access to. Sources say Calliactis tricolor anemones, are rarely interested in the likes of Jerry- striped hermit crabs- but I figured that in these circumstances, Chapeau might put his snobbery aside and do Jerry the honor of prettifying Jerry’s shell. Well, no… Chapeau snubbed Jerry. Sorry Jerry. Though it is probably just as well because Jerry is cursed with indecision about which of the shells in his wardrobe he likes best and tries different ones on several times a day sometimes.

So that’s where things stand today in the tank. What have I learned from all of this? That anyone who owns a salt water aquarium with varieties of invertebrates should invest in an infrared camera so you can see what goes on in there at night. May Ostracod be with you Gonzo, Squilly and Tank.

From The Glass Cabinet

I still don't have any guesses on the mystery picture I posted way back when. I am truly shocked that the enticement of a custom invertebrate Haiku has not elicited more (or any!) guesses on the item from my glass cabinet. So here is the photo one more time and a second one to give you a hint about who "the thing to be guessed" belonged to. (ALREADY ANSWERED)

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

HINT:

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Good Luck and remember if you are the first correct guess you get to choose ANY marine related topic for the Haiku! OMO- I am so excited!!!!

Later today... I will post TANK DIARIES (goings-on in my salt water tank). You will hear some confessions and some whining and some shocking behaviours unbecoming of aquatic creatures.

Whadya Wanna Know?

One of my many followers (ok, I have three- and one is my husband) wants to know something and here is what they wanna know:

Cliff asks: Why does the anemone reside on a living creature? Most anemones depicted on scientific shows are attached to rocks?

Cliff is referring to a picture I posted of my anemone, Chapeau, living on top of the beautiful calico box crab, Tank* (Ostracod rest her soul). Here is another photo of the duo...

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Before I give an answer let me just stop here briefly to remind everyone that "anemone" is pronounced aNEMone- the M is in the MIDDLE!! I hear many people say aNENome- No! Slap yourself on the hand! The second N is NOT in the middle! You know who you are. And I'm sorry to get so worked up about it but it's one of my (many) pet peeves- like using the word "literally" incorrectly. "Oh my God! It literally killed me when he told me he lost my chihuahua!" Anyway, moving on...

Most anemones are solitary or live in dense aggregations (clones of a single individual) attached to some sort of hard substrate- like rock, as Cliff mentioned seeing. For Calliactis tricolor, the species to which Chapeau belongs, a different lifestyle is practiced. Chapeau is a jet setter with a private chauffeur. He does not wish to sit around attached to hard, uncomfortable surfaces. He wants more in life than just waiting for food to float into his tentacles. He is not content to stare at the same patch of algae and the same tired old limpets day in and day out, maybe occasionally, pulling up his pedal disk and moving ten feet to the left.

There are many symbiotic relationships in nature. The one between Tank and Chapeau is considered mutualistic, that is, both individuals benefit from the association. So though it might appear that Chapeau is just a lazy, freeloading anemone he (and, by the way, I don't know Chapeau's sex but think of him as a he- could be a she or even a he-she!) actually provides protection (by way of stinging threads called acontia) and camouflage to Tank. Chapeau, in return, gets to move around to new places (the jet setting part) and eat bits of food that Tank drops while eating like a barbarian (and she does- sniff, did-lots of grabbing and tearing of shrimp flesh).

The cool thing is that crabs of certain species, Hepatus epheliticus (Tank) being one, and several hermit crabs in particular (hence the common name "Hermit Crab Anemone") find each other and even help the anemone onto their shells!

So there you go Cliff. I hope this answers your questions. Here is a lovely picture of Chapeau (with his former chauffeur- Gonzo- more on that later) just to make your day better.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

That's Gross (but cool)

Warning: this post may not be suitable for those individuals with a sensitive nature.

So... As I mentioned earlier, I was going to talk to you about things coming out of anuses. This would definitely fall under the category of Gross, but how could it be cool? Oh, it is. Just imagine, say, you're taking a hike in the woods and all of a sudden a cougar jumps out at you. You forget all the cougar rules like "don't run", "try to look big", etc., blah, blah, blah and you, quite naturally panic and run. The cougar is just about to catch you when all of a sudden you remember your special adaptation to being easy, slow prey and you pull down your pants and shoot your guts out of your anus. There they are, your innards, in a nice, fresh, steaming pile on the ground. (Hey, I told you it was gross.) It's really what the cougar wants anyway. He doesn't WANT to waste valuable energy leaping on you and then holding you down while you are thrashing around under him, then after all that having to chew through your clothes to eat you! Anyway, he sees your delicious guts and starts munching, totally ignoring you while you make your getaway and hide out in the woods until your guts grow back.

But wait, there's more! Imagine you're a crime fighter or super hero. You're being chased by a bad guy. He's really strong and fast and has other powers much greater than yours so you know that if he catches you you're dead. So what do you do? You use your super DOO-PER power and lift your cape and release your rear hatch and let loose long (more than 30 times your body length!) sticky strings from your anus. Of course the bad guy doesn't expect this so he runs right into the middle of the pile. The more he struggles the more tangled he gets. You release the strings from your anus and take off into the night...

THESE SUPER POWERS REALLY EXIST! Sadly not with us. Though it would be a great excuse to get out of work- "Sorry, I can't come in today. My cat jumped out at me last night and I accidentally expelled all of my guts through my anus and I need to stay home until they grow back." Besides, you could only use that excuse once every few years.) Seriously... Sea Cucumbers, the Holothurians, one class of echinoderms, can do these things! "AAAAH"- the sea cucumber says to himself as he lays in the sandy sea grass bed inching along on his little bristley "legs"- it's gonna eat me... splat...narrow escape.

Next time you play "would you rather" with your kids ask them if they would rather have super speed or shoot long sticky, strings out of their butts. I bet they'll say "That's Gross!" and some might even say "That's Gross... but cool!"

SPECIAL MORNING FEATURE! A little something for the kids...

Melvin the Mollusk moved madly and morosely through the mud. Why was Melvin so miserable when most mollusks were mischievous and merry? Well… on Monday, Melvin met a malevolent man who made Melvin miss his meeting with marvelous Muriel the Mollusk by mashing Melvin into the mushy mud. Muriel misbelieved that Melvin meant to miss the meeting and went to the movies with Marcus the Mollusk. Melvin stayed mired in the muck until Midnight and Muriel, in the meantime, married Marcus.
This was most maddening to Melvin and he meandered meaninglessly through the mud and moped and moaned and momentarily misted up. Then, miraculously, Melvin mellowed. There are millions more mollusks to marry than Muriel! Maybe Melvin will make a more magnificent match and have many amazing moments with Melba the Mollusk and won’t be mad or morose anymore!

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

And Later Today... I will talk about the benefits of shooting things out of your anus... well maybe not YOUR anus but the anus of the ugly cousin of sea stars and urchins, the SEA CUCUMBER!! Stay tuned for THAT'S GROSS! (but cool).

Invertebrate Haiku

In honor or the blog title “Aristotles Lantern”, the beautifully “designed” apparatus by which Echinoideans (urchins) feed, I present to you the first, in a series of haikus written by yours truly.

Before the haiku I wanted you to think about something my dad once said, "Who wouldn't like an animal whose asshole is on top of its head!" You're right, Dad, and thanks.

Urchin

spines slowly spiral
Aristotle's lantern lips
crunching kelpy lunch

Wasn't that worth the long intro?!

Spike, one of the denizens of my tank, asked that I show you HIS Aristotle’s lantern at work (really just the “teeth” of the structure). And I know Spike is a “he” because I had the pleasure of watching him spew his purple sperm all over the tank- more on that later…

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Now would be a good time to introduce you to the beloveds:

Tank and Chapeau: Tank, a lovely girl Dolly Varden aka Calico Box Crab aka Hepatus epheliticus with the very stylish Chapeau, a pretty (or handsome?) Hermit Crab Anemone aka Tricolor Anemone aka Calliactis tricolor. Very Jaunty! The fashion forward duo bring a little something extra special to this symbiotic relationship. It's not always just about food and protection!

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Spike: Spike is a purple sea urchin, Arbacia punctulata, who, I swear to OSTRACOD, only goes clockwise around my tank. He is really cool. And Spikey. And I love him a lot and will be very sad when he dies and I have to let him get crusty and extract his Aristotle's lantern for display in the glass cabinet.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Porky: I am pretty sure Porky is a short-spined sea urchin, Lytechinus variegatus. Please let me know if you believe otherwise. He's really funny- makes awesome faces! He gets very excited when I put food in the tank- tube feet a flyin! Here is a not so great photo of Porky and his Mr. Bill impersonation and another one, good oral view.


photos copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Starfish: No, I don't have a name for this beautiful cushion star (Goniatus americanus) other than "starfish"- perhaps due to my reluctance to call these animals by their more up to date and, of course, apropos title of SEA star. Be awed by his pinky-peachy-ness.

photo copyright 2009 by Heather Stoker

Keep reading for updates from the tank!