Fauna Fabula: Unreal Animals in the Real World

animalworld:

BONE EATING SNOT FLOWER
Osedax mucofloris
©NHM / Nature Online

Translated from the mixed Greek and Latin used in scientific names, “Osedax mucofloris” literally means “bone-eating snot-flower” which is an unattractive name for any species, even a sea worm that feasts on dead whales. These deep-sea siboglinid polychaete worms, are alo called boneworms, zombie worms, or bone-eating worms.

Scientists from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute using the submarine ROV Tiburon first discovered the genus in Monterey Bay, California, in February 2002. The worms were found living on the bones of a decaying gray whale in the Monterey Canyon, at a depth of 2,893 m (9,491 ft).

Lacking stomach and mouth, Osedax rely on symbiotic species of bacteria to digest whale fat and oils and to release the nutrients in a form that they can absorb. Osedax have colorful feathery plumes that act as gills and unusual root-like structures that absorb nutrients.

Male Osedax are microscopic dwarfs that live as “harems” inside the lumen of the gelatinous tube that surrounds each female. An individual female can house hundreds of these males in her tube. Source

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Christmas Tree Worm

Venus Flytrap Sea Anemone

Pompeii Worm

Oaten Pipes

Nomura’s Jellyfish (Nemopilema nomurai)

Nomura’s Jellyfish also known as the Echizen kurage by the Japanese, is a large Japanese Jellyfish whose width is slightly larger than a height of a fully grown man. It can grow up to 2 meters and weigh about 450lb (220 kg) which is as heavy as a male lion. It is the biggest jellyfish in the world. When the Nomura’s Jellyfish is under attack or killed they release billions of sperm or eggs, they connect with the water and attach to rocks or coral formations. These eggs detach from their home when the conditions are favorable and grow into more jellyfish millions at a time.

This makes the problem of combating the Nomura Jellyfish even more difficult. And the baby Nomura’s Jellyfish grow from the size of a grain of rice to the size of a washing machine in less than six months.

Viperfish (Chauliodus sloani) - Requested by Anonymous

The viperfish is one of the most unusual-looking fish in the deep sea. It is also one of the most popular and well-known species. It is one of the fiercest predators of the deep. This fearsome looking creature has a long dorsal spine that is tipped with a photophore, a light-producing organ. The viperfish uses this light organ to attract its prey through a process known as bioluminescence. By flashing the light on and off, it can be used like a fishing lure to attract smaller fish.

In spite of its ferocious appearance, the viperfish is a relatively small animal, growing to about 11 or 12 inches (30 centimeters) in length. They have a hinged skull, which can be rotated up for swallowing unusually large prey. They also have very large stomachs that allow them to stock up on food whenever it is plentiful. Viperfish are known to be preyed upon by sharks and some species of dolphin.

Upside-down Jellyfish (Cassiopeia Andromeda)

A type of jellyfish that usually lives in intertidal sand or mud flats, shallow lagoons, and around mangroves. This jellyfish, many times mistaken for a sea anemone, usually has its mouth upward on the bottom. Its bell, which is yellow-brown with streaks and spots that are white or pale, vibrates to make the water flow through its arms for respiration and the obtaining of food.

Saddled Bichir or Tiger Bichir (Polypterus Endlicheri Endlicheri)

An incredibly hardy, nocturnal species with very poor vision, Polypterus endlicheri endlicheri relies on its excellent sense of smell to locate food. This species, along with others of its genus, are some of the last surviving relatives of very ancient species. Fossils of earlier relatives have been found that date back to the Triassic Period, which occured during the early development of the dinosaurs more than 200 million years ago.

Young bichirs have amphibian-like external gills which are lost as the fish matures. This, coupled with their nocturnal mode of hunting, in which they emerge from their daytime refuges to hunt invertebrates and small fish in shallow water clearly exhibit the link these species form between fish and amphibians.

They are available in some pet stores.

Prickly Dogfish or Rough Shark (Oxynotus bruniensis)

The Prickly Dogfish has a hump-backed body which has a flat lower surface and very rough skin.  In Australia, the species occurs the central New South Wales coast to the Great Australian Bight, including Tasmania. Found near the sea floor over outer continental and insular shelves and upper slopes, the prickly dogfish is thought to be a slow-moving predator of small benthic organisms.

allcreatures:

A rare slipper lobster, nicknamed Popeye, is cared for at Newquay’s Blue Reef Aquarium after being discovered sitting on the pots of a fisherman in St Mawes, Cornwall. The slipper lobster - which is normally found in much warmer waters - is one of only a handful of specimens recorded in UK waters since records began back in 1758.

Giant Red Brittle Star (Ophioderma sp.)

Brittle stars or ophiuroids are echinoderms in the class Ophiuroidea closely related to starfish. They crawl across the seafloor using their flexible arms for locomotion. The ophiuroids generally have five long slender, whip-like arms which may reach up to 60 centimeters (24 in) in length on the largest specimens. They are also known as serpent stars. Ophiuroids have no eyes, or other specialized sense organs. However, they have several types of sensitive nerve ending in their epidermis, and are able to sense chemicals in the water, touch, and even the presence or absence of light.Moreover, tube feet may sense light as well as odors. These are especially found at the ends of their arms, detecting light and retreating into crevices.

Long-nosed Chimera (Harriotta raleighana)

Biologists have gone to great lengths to describe the long-nosed chimaera, whose kind can reach five feet in length. Its stiletto-like nose reminded one of “the nose contour of a supersonic jet aircraft.” Others have dubbed it “rat-tail,” for obvious reasons. In South Africa, it is known as the “ghost shark,” though it is only distantly related to sharks. A touch of the venomous spine on the first dorsal fin can kill a person.

Chimeras are primitive fishes and are closely related to sharks. Chimeras have scaleless skin, and eggs that are encapsulated in horny packages. The long snout is a sensory organ, and as such is well-endowed with both chemical and electrical sensors. It is believed that these senses are used to detect prey and/or mates. When the latter resource is acquired, male long-nose chimeras hold onto their prize with claspers on their heads, which grasp the female’s pectoral fin during mating.

Blobfish (Psychrolutes marcidus)

The Blob fish are found at a depth of around 800 meters which would make life impossible for most fish as at that depth the pressure is roughly eighty times more than at sea level. The reason that the Blob fish can survive at such a depth is also what gives it such a unique look (some would say ugly), foregoing a gas bladder (found in most fish to keep them buoyant) the Blob fish is almost entirely comprised of gelatinous substance, this keeps the Blob fish from sinking as the density of the goo is less than that of then sea where they are found.

When under water the Blob fish has an comical, almost human looking face however if taken out of water the Blob fish will die after a short while and is gelatinous body will dry out and shrivel no longer resembling the typical way people think of Blob fish.