OSTRACOD BE WITH YOU!

I had no idea it had been almost a year since my last post! Utterly shameful. I don't really know what happened- maybe I was stuck in a space-time continuum, or sucked through a black hole or even a worm hole. Speaking of worm holes, did you hear the joke about the polychaete and the sipunculid who walked into a bar? Me neither, but if you can come up with one I will send you this homemade milk chonch magnet (it's a photo I took and stuck on magnetic paper! wow-wee!)

I am sorry to say that I am going to be taking another indefinite absence from my blog. Too many projects on my plate at the moment and beginning to work on a little book filled with my marine invertebrate limericks (some from my blog but many new ones as well), complete with drawings and "nerd notes". Here is a photo of a rough-draft page:

Below is a photo of some invert goods I spotted in the wrack line on Wrightsville Beach (North Carolina). This was not a "posed" picture but a still life au naturel!

If you can answer the following questions correctly about the above photo I will send you this sea biscuit magnet (also a photo from a sea biscuit test I found snorkeling in Bahamas).


Ok, here we go:

Name the four phyla represented in the photo and the species name of the crab, and guess whether I was wearing shoes or not when I took the picture (hint: I never wear shoes on the beach).

GOOD LUCK and MAY OSTRACOD BE WITH YOU!

From the Glass Cabinet

Congratulations to Ben and Carrie for guessing the mouth part (Aristotle's lantern) of a sea biscuit (specifically Clypeaster rosaceus). Here is another photo showing the teeth of the mouth structure.

photo copyright 2011 by Heather Stoker

This Aristotle's lantern came from a sea biscuit that was (sadly) crushed when it was pulled up in a dredge offshore North Carolina. I don't have a picture of the animal, but it essentially looks like a really fat or bloated sand dollar. It is covered in short spines that are quite prickly on bare hands. This Aristotles' lantern was covered with algae that it had been eating.
The sea biscuit is considered an irregular urchin because, unlike regular urchins, it does not have its asshole on top of its head. That statement is totally unscientific and not very accurate. Let me try that again. The anus (and gonopores) are on the aboral surface (the side you see when the animal is creeping along the bottom) and the mouth is on the oral surface (the side you don't see). So the regular urchins have a mouth and anus in a direct line with each other- like the axis of their pentaradial symmetry. The irregular urchins have a mouth AND an anus on the oral surface, and just gonopores (where sperm or eggs are released) on the aboral surface. So really more bilaterally symmetrical.

Here's two photos of the aboral surface of an irregular urchin test/"skeleton"(a keyhole urchin):

and a regular urchin test (purple sea urchin):

photos copyright 2011 by Heather Stoker

A little hard to see, but the keyhole urchin has little dots (gonopores) and no larger hole (anus) in the middle. The regular urchin has an anus surrounded by the gonopores. (See January 3rd Invertebrate Limerick post for a nice close-up of this structure.)

Only irregular urchins from Clypeaster's order (and one other order) have the lantern and it is different from those of regular urchins in that it can not protrude and angle in different directions and is constructed of many fewer parts. Your classic sand dollars and the keyhole urchin shown above do NOT have this structure.

Here is a link to a scientific paper that will tell your more about the sea biscuit's Aristotle's lantern. It even has mathematical formulas and other information that is way over my head to explain about the breaking strength of this mouth structure. Here it is- very informative and interesting: http://www.bowdoin.edu/faculty/a/ajohnson/pdfs/EllersTelfordJawForcesJEB1991.pdf

Anyway, Congratulations again!

From the Glass Cabinet

Today's item from the glass cabinet is a very cool thing.

photo copyright 2011 by Heather Stoker

The item is about 1.5 inches (about 3.8 cm) from left to right point. There appears to be a specific type of symmetry characteristic of a particular group of critters- Hmmm? Hmmm? Maybe you need about 5 minutes to think about it (hint hint). If you can tell me what animal it belonged to AND what function it served I will send you an "I (heart) Barnacle Penises" giant bookmark. It looks like this:

I made it so it's not the best craftsmanship but I would be willing to bet none of your friends have one! Here's something else I made:

Yes, it's true. In my infinite quest for new ways to procrastinate I have created this tiny diorama depicting three microscopic crustaceans- an amphipod, an isopod and an ostracod- enjoying a romp in their benthic habitat (I know its not to scale- that's my artistic license okay?).

Good luck with the guessing!

Invertebrate Limerick

Steve, here is your requested limerick about barnacles. Also, if you want more on barnacles go to "That's Gross but Cool" post about the barnacles' amazing penis (October 8, 2009) and the latest "Inverta-bits" post has a few dirty photos of goose barnacles.

Here it is- hope you like it:

Cirripedia

A barnacle's a crustacean- who knew it?
Darwin did- but Linnaeus- he blew it.
What about it's hard shell?
And no claws- what the hell?
Its the nauplius larva that proved it!

It was once thought that barnacles were actually mollusks (calcium carbonate shell-like plates threw them off!) Sadly, SOME people still do- I saw a photo on some site that described a goose barnacle as a bi-valve. Shame! Anyway...

Here is a photo re-enacting a barnacle attack on an unsuspecting diver. The manta ray is not intending to help at all- just curious to see if the barnacle can chew through the wetsuit.


Here's a closeup of the barnacle trying to eat the diver. It's ok- he only lost his forearm and his tank. Luckily his diving buddy was nearby and was willing to share his oxygen. (Reminder to never dive alone!)


Really, barnacles are completely harmless unless you are plankton, in which case it's probably pretty scary getting trapped in the cirri ("legs") of the barnacle. Barnacles are suspension feeders, that is, they stick their feathery thoracopods into the water and, essentially, wait to catch whatever swims into their legs and then move the food down to their mouth. Some species of barnacles can actively filter the water by reversing the direction of the cirri and moving their legs in a stroking motion (happens when water currents are slow).

Here is a photo of a striped barnacle, Balanus amphitrite, trying to compete for space with some mussels. (Photo taken on some mysterious black, semi-hard, tar-like formation that formed tide pools over a few years on a stretch of beach on Jekyll Island, GA).

Photo copyright 2008 by Heather Stoker

Hope you liked your limerick Steve! I'll send your other stuff out in a couple of weeks.

To all of my fabulous readers and fellow nerds- talk to you after the new year!

From the Glass Cabinet

Congratulations, Steve! You are the proud new owner of some invert "art" for guessing horse shoe crab on the last "From the Glass Cabinet". Those pointy bits were the spines on its opisthosoma (back portion including floppy part of carapace). Here is a photo of the lovely little Limulus polyphemus sans telson (pointy tail).


Photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

Here is the newest addition to the glass cabinet:
photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

This slipper lobster specimen is only about 2" (5cm) long. The uropods are missing so no pretty tail fan, but otherwise a really nice little molt. This is one of the Scyllarus genus- not sure of the species but would guess Scyllarus americanus. (From scientific dredge offshore North Carolina.) Quite a cute little bugger. For those not familiar with the slipper lobster, those flat projections on the front of the "face" are flattened antennae used for shoveling through sediment. (See "Whadaya Wanna Know" post from February for more about slipper lobsters.)

In addition to collecting invertebrate shells, parts, egg cases, claws, exoskeletons, etc. I have now starting picking up other items that depict images of marine invertebrates including some very beautiful stamps from around the world. I can't help it. It's a sickness, I know, and when I die my family will just shake their collective head and say "What the hell are we supposed to do with all this stuff? I think she was crazy!" Anyway, here are a couple of those stamps now. You'll understand why I had to buy them if you are as big a nerd as me.






Who among you could resist nudibranch stamps that only cost about 40cents? Or a paper nautilus poofing his syphon? And the fabulous and curious hermit? Anyone? Anyone?

From The Glass Cabinet

Today's item from the glass cabinet would be too easy to guess if I showed the whole thing. I will give a hint, however. I lied about the behavior of this animal in one of my "That's gross but cool" posts.


photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker


The first correct guesser will receive an iron-on picture of Spike, a pink postcard with the anemone anus limerick, and a pooping sea urchin (Spike again) sticker. Here's a photo of the prize!



Wow! How awesome is that? I'd say not as awesome as having a tiny octopus wrap an arm around your finger and feeling its little suckers suctioning onto your skin- which is a totally awesome thing that happened to me. But probably more awesome than having a sea cucumber squirt stinky black crap onto your hand just because you squeezed it a little- which also happened to me and was not awesome at all.

Good luck!

Tank Diaries

So much has happened since the last "Tank Diaries" post. I have come to the sad realization that I am NOT a very good aquarist as the turnover in the tank has been pretty high. It's stressful, frankly, trying to keep animals alive that live in water. (I am really good at keeping algae healthy though.)

Comparatively, the cat (Twinky) and dog (Judy) are pretty low maintenance. They seem to have a plentiful supply of oxygen and I don't have to worry about them being poisoned by their own urine, and if the air quality or food selection is not to their liking, well, too bad for them- they won't die because of it. Here's a picture of the air breathers waiting for something exciting to happen.


How pathetic.

Back to the inverts... Here's the list of the RECENTLY dead: Chapeau (anemone); Spike (urchin); Spiny Jewel Box (spiny jewel box); Starfish (sea star).

And here's the list of the soon to be dead: Porky (urchin); The Menace (Dolly Varden/calico box crab). The Menace has a mystery funk eating through his shell also known as (by me) "the curse of the black spot". Pretty sure either a parasite (maybe nemertean worm?) or some bacteria. The previous Dolly Varden (named Tank- who I loved...sob) had the same affliction. See how sucky I am? Subjecting yet another crab to my infested tank?!

On a happier note... There are a couple hardy specimens still "kicking". Spiny Jewel Box had, unbeknownst to me until I noticed it on a photo that I took, a lovely, little fan worm of some sort living in one of the shell's spines. Here's a picture of Wormy with his/her radioles (tentacles) extended waiting for some edible tidbit to float into its grasp:

photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

Ugly Snail is, of course, still alive. I don't know what kind of gastropod he is because I really don't care- he's so uninteresting and boring to have around that I haven't bothered to look him up. I don't feed him and I don't know what he eats (presumably crap under the coral gravel because that's usually where he is). My neglect is clearly making him prosper.

And, finally, there's good old Jerry, Clibanarius vittatus, the striped hermit crab. He's totally happy. I give him a rotating wardrobe of shells and he spends the day changing into various calcareous garments. He has also had fun systematically disrobing the urchins of their spines and tubefeet. He finished off Spike one night. I came in to find a nicely cleaned urchin test (shell) which, of course, is now in the glass cabinet with the crusty remains of others in my dead invertebrate menagerie.

Here is Jerry in different shells:

photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker


photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker


photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

He seems to be ambidextrous as the lightning whelk (middle picture) is sinistral (aperture or shell opening on left). As I write, he is checking out a Florida fighting conch shell that I just dropped into the tank. Not sure the opening meets his standards though. Perhaps a little scientific research is in order investigating his shell preference. I'll call it the Jerry Project. Stay tuned...

Inverta-bits

Oh My Ostracod! No it's not invertebrate porn (the next logical step after invertebrate limericks- which everyone knows IS the gateway poetry to lewd graphic crustacean photo spreads). It's Lepas anatifera- or the common goose barnacle, the slightly creepy cousin of your standard stalkless barnacle.

photo copyright 2010 Heather Stoker

photo copyright 2010 Heather Stoker

These big boys- some with stalks up to five or six inches long and, easily, an inch in diameter- were found attached, en masse, to a Tsunami Buoy pulled out of the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The fleshy "member" (sorry) is called a PEDUNCLE which, frankly, has to be one of the best words ever. These particular peduncles are big enough that you might refer to them as honkinbadonkapeduncles (ooh- I'm copyrighting that!).

Here are the goose barnacles covering the buoy.

photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

The shelled portion is referred to as the Capitulum (Latin for "head") and the various calcareous plates that make up the head include the Tergum, Scutum and Rostrum (amongst a couple of others but I like to say these in particular- sound like three brothers who are characters in a story onto which a moral is attached). Here is a picture of the Capitulum with the barnacle's thoracic appendages (legs) reaching out to you.

photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

It was actually quite sad to see hundreds of these guys stretching their little, feathery legs out to the ozone but, ALAS! Instead of touching their precious briny deep only air- "air, air everywhere and not a drop of dissolved oxygen or plankton to drink" (isn't that how the quote goes?).

photo copyright 2010 by Heather Stoker

Yes, very, very sad... until they started to stink and then I was able to comfort myself with the tried and true "all in the name of science" maxim.

Way to be gross, barnacles!

Invertebrate Limerick

Sorry for the delay in getting your invertebrate limericks out, Jason R.! For your long wait, I give you not just one of the requested limericks about Symbions but two! And because I was so mentally exhausted coming up with these, instead of a third limerick about the slipper lobster (scyllarid) as you asked, I wrote you an aquatic animal alphabet anecdote to lighten my mood after my brain taxing.

Thanks for introducing the Symbion to me. I knew nothing of this animal and, frankly, after doing research for limerick inspiration, happily close the chapter on these odd little commensal symbionts. So here are your two limericks (finally!) and a little slipper lobster story. And by the way, for those of you who are not familiar with Symbions, here is a photo of one (or, um, two? Soon to be three?) from http://www.microscopy.uk.org/.


photo copyright Peter Funch (University of Copenhagen)

1 = adhesive disk attached to lobster mouth part; 2 = male on asexual feeding body waiting for female to bud to have sex with; 3 = anus of feeding body; 4 = mouth of feeding body.

Here we go...

The Symbion

The symbion’s a weird, little topic
It’s sac-like and hardly exotic.
Stuck on with a disc
To its host-lobster’s “lips”
eating leftovers in size microscopic

Symbion “Love”

No pooping and (like always) no kissing
Cause his mouth and his anus are missing
two sex-organs knock-up
a she-symbion bud
Of romance, there’ll be no reminiscing.


A Slipper Lobster Story

Scylarrid strolled silently southward, shoveling through sediment searching for something satisfying to swallow. Sadly, the search was sabotaged by seventy six stupid spiny lobsters sneaking by single-file. Scylarrid circumnavigated the shenanigans slowly, scowling severely at number sixty seven who he seriously suspected stole his scallops on Saturday. Soon the scene was sublime and Scyllarid slippered somewhere safe and submerged himself in the sand and said, sotto voce, "so-much for a scrumptious seafood snack" and seethed until supper.

Whadya Wanna Know?

Yo 405 wants to know: What adaptations do slipper lobsters have? And what do they eat? Are they scavengers?

Good questions Yo! For those of you not familiar with the slipper lobster here are a few illustrations from The Living Marine Resources of the Western Central Atlantic:

As you can clearly see their main adaptation is super cuteness! They knew that if they evolved to be adorable that humans wouldn't consider them a major commercial fishery. Unfortunately, they sometimes get eaten anyway, usually pulled up with Carribean lobsters or caught in small number by recreational fishermen. And, Yo, you may be surprised to know that not all people are concerned with how cute or not their food is. To me, eating a slipper lobster would be like eating a puppy! I'd also feel bad eating octopuses and cuttlefish- Oh, the shame! (But keep in mind, I'm more than a little partial to certain marine invertebrates. Some people might even think me weird- can you believe it?)


Here's another illustration (LMR of the Western Central Pacific). This guy, however, not so cute. His adaptation is evil, scary, spikeness.


Anyway, REAL adaptations... Those things on front of the slipper lobsters sweet little face look a little like flattened claws but are really plate-like segmented ANTENNAE. In fact they do not have any claws at all (which of course adds to their adorableness). The slipper lobsters are benthic animals, that is, they roam around on the sea floor and, depending on the species, live on sandy, muddy or rocky substrates or in coral reef habitats. They use these flattened antennae to shovel through the mud or sand looking for food. They sometimes do scavenge on dead things but eat live critters too, like gastropods (snails), anemones, bi-valves and other invertebrates.

This next drawing from the Waikiki Aquarium's website (http://www.waquarium.org/) gives you a good view of the slipper lobsters modified antennae and how dorso-ventrally flattened (think back squashed towards stomach) their bodies are. This is another adaptation, helpful in camouflaging the slipper lobster from predators (or prey) by flattening themselves against whatever surface they live on and allowing them to more easily wedge into tight crevices.

Hope that answered your questions, Yo! And by the way, the slipper lobsters belong to the decapod family Scyllaridae and guess what- and this is totally cool- the Greek word root SCYLL means "a dog, puppy"! Even the taxonomist who named the slipper lobsters thought they were cute like puppies! Yo, you're thinking "No way! For real?" And I have to answer "well, uh, sort of way" because the full Greek root of the slipper lobster's family name, SCYLLAR, means "a kind of crab". Oh, well, I tried to make it work.

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