Pictojam
#marinebiology
Great White Shark Social Club Found Near Guadalupe Island, Mexico
It’s a special gathering spot for great whites only.Experts discovered a secret shark social club in the waters of Guadalupe Island, near Mexico. According to the research, which was published in Biology Letters, the band of great whites formed their elite group during the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Some of the members of the clique were observed hunting and patroling around the waters with another of the same sex. The longest time that a pair of sharks were observed to be together was for about 70 minutes. "Seventy minutes is a long time to be swimming around with another white shark," marine scientist Yannis Papastamatiou, the lead researcher of the study, explained.The observed social network had their “meetings” near a seal breeding ground, which suggests that the sharks could be hanging out where their prey is near. This means that they both socialize and use each other as backups during hunting. "They aren't working together but being social could be a way to share information," Papastamatiou said. Image credit: Jakob Owens#sharks #greatwhites #animals #biology #marinebiology #GuadalupeIslang #Mexico
Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse is a Newly Discovered Fish in the Maldives
Oh, this fish is pretty!The Rose-Veiled Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus finifenmaa) is a newly-discovered fish species off the coast of Maldives. The creature’s pink hues earned it the name ‘finifenmaa’ which meant ‘rose’ in the local Dhivehi language. In addition, its name was a tribute to the island nation’s national flower. Local Maldinevian scientists were involved in describing and analyzing the new species. “This time it is different and getting to be part of something for the first time has been really exciting, especially having the opportunity to work alongside top ichthyologists on such an elegant and beautiful species,” said study co-author and Maldives Marine Research Institute biologist Ahmed Najeeb.The researchers involved in the study took note of the anatomy and other details of the fish and compared it to a discovered specimen (C. rubrisquamis ) to confirm that C. finifenmaa is indeed a unique species. They have discovered that the two species are unique and are different from each other. However, before the C. finifenmaa was given its scientific name, it had already been exploited through the aquarium hobbyist trade. Image credit, in order of appearance: Yi-Kai Tea; Luiz Rocha © California Academy of Sciences#marinebiology #science #research #Maldives #newspecies
60 Million Active Nests of Icefish: Largest Colony of Breeding Fish Found in Antarctica's Weddell Sea
Experts uncovered the largest colony of breeding fish in the world. Five hundred meters below the Weddell Sea in Antarctica lies approximately 60 million active nests of a type of icefish. This is the first time scientists have encountered such a huge number, as they usually only discover a handful of icefish nests at a time, or perhaps just several dozen.The discovery was made by deep-sea biologist Autun Purser of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Bremerhaven, Germany, and his colleagues. This team of experts was on a research cruise in the area, studying chemical connections between surface waters and the seafloor.Image credit: Alfred Wegener Institute, PS124 OFOBS team#discovery #science #marinebiology #icefish #Antarctica
Mole Cowrie Shell Looks Like a Portal to Another Dimension
That's a mole cowrie or chocolate banded cowrie (Talparia talpa), a type of large sea snail that live on coral reefs off the coasts of eastern Africa, South and Southeast Asia, Polynesia and western Australia.The black outer layer is the cowrie's mantle, which cover and hide the inner shell. When the mantle opens, it reveals that banded shell that looks like a portal into another dimension!Image: @seastung/Twitter#cowrie #molecowrie #cowry #seasnail #marinelife #marinebiology
Fin-to-Fin Synchronized Swimming: Courtship In Basking Sharks
Despite their frightening appearance and gigantic size, basking sharks actually pose no danger to us humans, as they only feed on zooplankton. In fact, they might even have something in common with us.Just as a human being holds hands with his significant other while they have a romantic walk in the park, basking sharks also have their own: fin-to-fin contact while doing synchronized swimming. Scientists have caught a glimpse of the romantic world of basking sharks when they studied six of these aquatic giants for 123 hours.Matthew Witt, one of the people in the fieldwork, described the moments as “utterly phenomenal.” Jessica Rudd, who led the fieldwork, described it as “really fascinating.”Copulation may not have been recorded on camera, but Will is confident that that is what may have happened next, as these types of behaviors are often what happens before mating, as they have observed from other sharks.The research was recently published in the journal PLOS One.(Image Credit: University of Exeter and NatureScot)#BaskingSharks #MarineScience #MarineBiology #Courtship #Mating
Marine Scientist Found Real Life SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star in the Atlantic Ocean
Marine scientist Christopher Mah of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) shared this humorous picture of what a real-life SpongeBob SquarePants and Patrick Star would look like.Mah posted the picture of a Hertwigia (sponge) and Chondraster (sea star) on Twitter. The duo were found on the side of the Retriever seamount in the Atlantic Ocean about 200 miles (320 km) east of New York City, by a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) on the NOAA's Okeanos Explorer ship."I normally avoid these refs ... but WOW. REAL LIFE SpongeBob and Patrick!" Mah wrote on his tweet. Talking to Insider, Mah added "I thought it would be funny to make the comparison, which for once was actually kind of comparable to the iconic images/colors of the cartoon characters. As a biologist who specializes in sea stars, most depictions of Patrick and SpongeBob are incorrect."Indeed, SpongeBob probably shouldn't be sitting so calmly next to Patrick as sea stars are actually carnivores that eat sponges.No words on whether they've found the other residents of Bikini Bottom on this trip.#SpongeBob #SpongeBobSquarePants #PatrickStar #seasponge #seastar #marinebiology #NOAA #AtlanticOcean #NewYorkCity #ROV #OkeanosExplorerRelated:3D Printed SpongeBob SquarePants Sponge Holder
Octopuses Sometimes Punch Fish For No Reason At All
Octopuses are smart animals, that much we know. They have large and well-developed brain as well as complex nervous system. Scientists have observed octopuses use tools and solve complex problems like opening the lids of containers and unlocking latches to get at food inside. They're high social and can communicate with each other. They can even collaborate with other predatory fish when they hunt.A new observation by Eduardo Sampaio and colleagues has now shown that octopuses can also be a bit of a jerk: they recorded multiple events where different Octopus cyanea off the coast of Egypt were seen punching fishes, sometimes for no reason at all!Sampaio noted that during collaborative hunting, there were times where the octopuses had good reasons to punch their partner fish, for example to gain advantage over them while catching a prey, to forcibly relocate a fish to a less advantageous position in the group, or even to permanently ban a partner fish.But there were also instances where the octopuses seemed to punch a fish out of spite with no immediate benefit. Sampaio wrote that "punching could be a case of spite (no emotional connotation), used to impose a cost on the fish regardless of self-cost, for example, after defection (stealing prey) by a usually collaborative partner."#octopus #animalbehavior #cephalopod #animalintelligence #hunting #cephalopod #marinebiologyVideo: Sampaio E, et al.
Spiral Shark Intestines Function Like Nikola Tesla Valve
It may be surprising, but scientists actually don’t know much about how a shark’s digestive system works, and how they eat, digest and excrete impact other marine species.In a new study, scientists used computerized tomography or CT scanner to investigate the intestine of a Pacific spiny dogfish shark (Squalus suckleyi). “It’s high time that some modern technology was used to look at these really amazing spiral intestines of sharks,” said professor Samantha Leigh of California State University, Dominguez Hills. “We developed a new method to digitally scan these tissues and now can look at the soft tissues in such great detail without having to slice into them.”The researchers found that the spiral intestine of the shark resembles the one-way valve designed by Nikola Tesla more than a century ago. The so-called ‘Tesla Valve’ allows fluid to flow in one direction without backflow or even moving parts.Leigh suggests that as most sharks usually go days or even weeks between eating large meals, their spiral intestines allow them to hold food in their digestive system and absorb as much nutrients as possible. The slowed movement of food in the intestines allows sharks to retain food there longer, as well as use less energy processing it.Images and video clip: Samantha Leigh/California State University, Dominguez Hills#CTScan #shark #intestines #TeslaValve #NikolaTesla #digestivesystem #marinebiology #anatomy #fluiddynamics
Glass Octopus and Other Strange Marine Creatures Captured on Camera During a Scientific Deep-Sea Dive
Scientists aboard Schmidt Ocean Institute's research vessel Falkor went on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) dive in the Phoenix Islands Archipelago in the Pacific Ocean and found this beauty: a glass octopus.The glass octopus or Vitreledonella richardi is a rare species of octopus that gets its name from its ability to being almost completely transparent. The only parts that aren't transparent are its optic nerve, eyeballs and digestive tract. It is one of the least studied octopus, with most specimens known to scientists being found in the stomachs of predators.The yellow dots in the glass octopus' skin between its arms are chromatophores, or pigmented organs that let the octopus change colors for camouflage.via Schmidt Ocean
Privacy & Cookie Policy
DMCA Policy
Website Accessibility Statement