Tag saltwater

Maxima Clam

f&m Leave a comment

The Maxima Clam (Tridacna maxima) is a marine (saltwater) bivalve mollusc in the Cardiidae family. It is also called the Small Giant Clam. It is related to the Cockle. 

The Maxima Clam has a thick shell called a mantle. Its shell is actually two equal-sized calcareous valves connected with a flexible adductor muscle. The shell can open and close. Bi-valve means two valves (or two shells). The mantle is bright-blue, green, or brown with distinctive furrows. It has a mouth, a heart, kidneys, a stomach, and a nervous system. 

Continue reading “Maxima Clam” →

Common Periwinkle

f&m Leave a comment

The Common Periwinkle (Littorina littorea) is a small marine (saltwater) gastropod mollusc in the Littorinidae family of whelks and sea snails. 

The Common Periwinkle has a thick, dark, grey-brown shell, that is sometimes banded. The inside of the shell is chocolate brown. It has 6-7 whorls. It has gills that enable it to breathe underwater. It has a lid on its shell, called an operculum. 

Continue reading “Common Periwinkle” →

Pulsing Coral

f&m Leave a comment

The Pulsing Coral (Xenia sp.) is a soft marine (saltwater) coral in the Xeniidae family. It is also known as Pulse Coral. It is not a plant.

The Pulsing Coral resembles a mat-like mushroom with many-fingered arms. It uses its polyp arms to move water around it. This is called pulsatile motion. It is an octocoral because it has eight tentacles and eight mesenteries on their polyps. It can be white, yellow, blue, green, and brown.

Continue reading “Pulsing Coral” →

Short-Nosed Unicornfish

f&m Leave a comment

The Short-Nosed Unicornfish (Naso brevirostris) is a marine (saltwater) fish in the Acanthuridae family of surgeonfish and tangs.

The Short-Nosed Unicornfish has a bluish-grey or brown oval-shaped body with a small mouth. It has one short, prominent horn, called a rostral protruberance, at the front of its head. It has many small dark spots on its head. Its tail is whitish with dark blotches. It has six dorsal (back) spines. 

Continue reading “Short-Nosed Unicornfish” →

Urchin Climber

f&m Leave a comment

The Urchin Climber (Mespilia globulus) is a small marine (saltwater) in the Temnopleuridae family. It is also known as the Ball Urchin.

The Urchin Climber is spherical (ball-shaped) with broad bright blue stripes from top to bottom. In between the blue stripes are bands of short, thin spines called quills that are positioned close together. The quills are black or brown with white tips. 

Continue reading “Urchin Climber” →
Featured

CREATURE FEATURE: Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray

f&m Leave a comment

The Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray (Taeniura lymma) is a marine (saltwater) stingray in the Dasyatidae family of stingrays. It is also known as the Bluespotted Fantail Ray, the Bluespotted Stingray, or the Lagoon Ray.

The Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray has an oval-shaped disc with electric blue spots on a greyish-yellow coloured skin. The spots vary in size. It has a pair of blue stripes on its tail. It has large, bright-yellow, protruding eyes, a rounded snout (nose), and a short, thick tail. It is mainly smooth, except for a few small thorns in the middle of its back. Its belly is white.

Continue reading “CREATURE FEATURE: Bluespotted Ribbontail Ray” →

Florida Horse Conch

f&m Leave a comment

The Florida Horse Conch (Triplofusus papillosus) is a large tropical marine (saltwater) gastropod mollusc in the Fasciolariidae family of sea spindle snails and tulip snails. It is not a true conch shell from the Strombidae family of sea snails.

The Florida Horse Conch is greyish-white or brownish with a light-brown or dark-brown periostracum, which is the thin coating on its shell. It has a long siphonal canal and up to 10 whorls around its shell. It can retract the soft part of its body entirely into its shell and close the operculum (lid). The soft part of its body is bright orange. 

Continue reading “Florida Horse Conch” →

Pederson’s Shrimp

f&m Leave a comment

The Pederson’s Shrimp (Ancylomenes pedersoni or Periclemenes pedersoni) is a marine (saltwater) crustacean in the Palaemonidae family of shrimp. It is also known as the Pederson’s Cleaner Shrimp. It is related to the crab and the lobster.

The Pederson’s Shrimp is a small, transparent (see-through) shrimp with blue or violet markings on its body. It has long, white antennae. 

Continue reading “Pederson’s Shrimp” →

Mediterranean Feather Star

f&m Leave a comment

The Mediterranean Feather Star (Antedon mediterranea) is a marine (saltwater) crinoid in the Antedonidae family of unstalked feather starfish. 

The Mediterranean Feather Star can be a range of colours, such as white, yellow, orange, red, deep purple, and brown. It has a calyx – a small cup-shaped structure that is surrounded by five pairs of feathery arms. These 10 arms have 40 grasping cirri which are curl-like tufts, feathers, or fringes. The arms are like tentacles. The arms are prehensile, which means that they can grasp objects, food, and hard surfaces. In danger, the arms can roll up. The arms are fragile, but they can regenerate (re-grow) if they break off. 

Continue reading “Mediterranean Feather Star” →

Dusky Grouper

f&m Leave a comment

The Dusky Grouper (Epinephelus marginatus) is a marine (saltwater) fish in the Serranidae family of ray-finned groupers. It is also known as the Yellowbelly Rock Cod or the Yellowbelly Grouper.

The Dusky Grouper is a very large, oval-shaped, large-headed fish with a wide mouth and a protruding lower jaw. It is grey or dark reddish-brown, usually with yellow-gold counter-shading. It has irregular pale green-yellow or silver-grey blotches on its head and body. There are black tips on its pelvic fins. It has large, bulging, blue eyes.

Continue reading “Dusky Grouper” →

Black Goby

f&m Leave a comment

The Black Goby (Gobius niger) is a marine (saltwater) ray-finned fish in the Gobiidae family of gobies.

The Black Goby is mottled-black with large scales around its neck. In the breeding season, the male becomes very black. It has a black spot on the front end of its dorsal (back) fins. It has an elongated shape with a rounded snout (nose). It has two dorsal fins that are almost continuous and looks like one fin. The dorsal fin closest to the tail has 6 spines. It has bulging eyes.

Continue reading “Black Goby” →

What is the difference between the South American Fur Seal and the South American Sea Lion?

f&m Leave a comment

What is the difference between the South American Fur Seal (Arctocephalus australis) and the South American Sea Lion (Otaria flavescens)?

The South American Fur Seal and the South American Sea Lion are both marine (saltwater) mammals in the Pinnipedia clade of sea lions and fur seals. They are both pinniped mammals, which means that they are fin-footed.

The South American Fur Seal are both in the Otariidae family, which means that they both have ears. The South American Fur Seal has no external ear flaps, whereas the South American Sea Lion has small but clearly visible external ear flaps. 

Continue reading “What is the difference between the South American Fur Seal and the South American Sea Lion?” →

South American Fur Seal

f&m Leave a comment

The South American Fur Seal (Arctocephalus australis) is an aquatic marine (saltwater) mammal in the Pinnipedia clade and Otariidae family of sea lions and fur seals. It is a pinniped (fin-footed) and an otariid (eared seal).

The South American Fur Seal has dark-grey or brown fur. The male has a mane of hair around its neck. It has a thick neck, broad chest, broad shoulders, and an upturned nose. It has white whiskers on its chin called vibrissae. It does not have external ear flaps.

It has flippers for swimming. Its movement in water is called aquatic locomotion. Its body is streamlined with oily fur for swimming fast underwater. It has a fatty body, called blubber, which keeps it warm and buoyant. It has a flexible spine (backbone). It has short fins, and on land, it has difficulty walking, so it crawls.

Continue reading “South American Fur Seal” →

South American Sea Lion

f&m Leave a comment

The South American Sea Lion (Otaria flavescens) is a marine (saltwater) mammal in the Otariidae family of sea lions and fur seals. It is an otariid, which is an eared sea lion. It is also known as the Southern Sea Lion and the Patagonian Sea Lion.

The South American Sea Lion has orange to brown fur. The male has a very large mane of hair on its back, like other sea lions. It has a sleek, slender build with a thick neck, broad chest, broad shoulders, and a long, protruding face and upturned nose. It has white whiskers on its chin called vibrissae. It has small external ears on the sides of its face. 

It has flippers for swimming. Its movement in water is called aquatic locomotion. Its body is streamlined with oily fur for swimming fast underwater. Its fatty body has blubber, which keeps it warm and buoyant. It has a flexible spine (backbone). On land, it walks on its foreflippers (front flippers). 

Continue reading “South American Sea Lion” →

Jewel Fairy Basslet

f&m Leave a comment

The Jewel Fairy Basslet (Pseudanthias squamipinnis) is a tropical marine (saltwater) fish in the Grammatidae family.  It is also known as the Goldie, the Lyretail Fairy Basslet, the Blue-Eyed Anthias, the Orange Butterfly Perch, or the Red Coral Perch.

The Jewel Fairy Basslet is generally gold or red with an orange-blue stripe on its cheek. The male is purplish. It has elongated fins. Its eyes are bright blue.

Continue reading “Jewel Fairy Basslet” →

Jewel Anemone

f&m Leave a comment

The Jewel Anemone (Corynactis viridis) is a marine (saltwater) anthozoan coral in the Corallimorphidae family of sea anemones. It is an animal, not a plant. 

The Jewel Anemone is cylindrical, slightly wider at the base, with an oral (mouth) disc and polyps. The individual polyps are clustered in aggregations. It is not attached to the soil or rock – the individuals can detach and drift away. Its tentacles are short, althought the outer tentacles are longer than the inner tentacles. Its colour is variable, but it is mainly white, pink, orange, red, and green.

Continue reading “Jewel Anemone” →

Purple Sea Urchin

f&m Leave a comment

The Purple Sea Urchin (Paracentrotus lividus) is a marine (saltwater) animal in the Parechinidae family of urchins. 

The Purple Sea Urchin is spherical with long, sharply-pointed purple spines. The spines can also be dark-brown, light-brown, or olive-green. It has 5-6 pairs of pores on each plate. It has tubed feet in groups of five or six in a small arc shape. It has a small mouth.

Continue reading “Purple Sea Urchin” →

European Plaice

f&m Leave a comment

The European Plaice (Pleuronectes platessa) is a marine (saltwater) fish in the Pleuronectiformes family of flatfish.

The European Plaice is oval-shaped with a thin, laterally compresed body and a small head. It has a small mouth with a single series of small incisor-like teeth. It has dark-green to dark-brown skin, which is blotched with irregular orange spots. It can camouflage its skin to match its environment. Its underside is pearly white. Its skin is smooth with small scales. Both eyes are on the right side of its body (it is called a right-eyed flatfish). 

Continue reading “European Plaice” →