Today's Catch

  • May 20, 2013
    Photograph of a green sea slug, with white polka-dot-like markings and white-edged ruffly structures along the length of its back.

    Lettuce Sea Slug

    The lettuce sea slug (Elysia crispata) has enlarged fleshy appendages that are folded over one another, with colors ranging from blue to green, with purple and red lining. The green coloring is what gives this mollusk it's common name, resembling a head of leafy green lettuce. The sea slug eats green algae, but not all of the algae they eat is digested. Some of the green algae gets shuttled off to make a home in those fleshy appendages (called parapodia).

    Commensalism, Nudibranchs
    CREDIT:

    © 2004 Smithsonian Institution
  • May 17, 2013
    West Indian Manatee

    West Indian Manatee Portrait

    West Indian Manatees, Trichechus manatus, are found in warm, shallow coastal ecosystems along the southeastern North America and northeastern South America. They graze plants in mangrove ecosystems and seagrass beds, occasionally eating small fish or invertebrates.

    Endangered species
    CREDIT:

    © 2004 Smithsonian Institution
  • May 16, 2013

    Searching for Crustaceans in the Deep Sea

    In this video Smithsonian research zoologist Dr. Martha Nizinski takes viewers with her as she searches for crustaceans in the deep sea. She's particularly interested in finding squat lobsters, which despite their name, are actually crabs. On this dive in the waters off Curaçao, she discovers some living on a sunken piece of wood.

    Caribbean, Crabs, Crustaceans
    CREDIT:

    Smithsonian Institution
  • May 15, 2013
    Colorful crustaceans from the Caribbean island of Guadeloupe.

    Colorful Caribbean Crustaceans

    Discovering new species is an exciting quest, right? Well, some parts are—but after you find a cool-looking organism that you think is a new species, there's a lot more to be done. You have to confirm that it's new, write a detailed description, take photographs, collect DNA, and do other meticulous work. On average, it takes 21 years for a newly discovered species to be officially named!

    Biodiversity, Scientists at work
    CREDIT:

    L. Corbari, Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle, Paris, and Joseph Poupin, École Navale, Brest
  • May 14, 2013
    X-ray Image of a Monterey Skate

    X-Ray Image of a Monterey Skate

    An X-ray image of a Monterey skate (Raja montereyensis) reveals a spine that extends like a tail out from the pelvic fin. The skeletons of skates, rays, chimaeras, and sharks are made of cartilage, rather than bone. Scientists in the Division of Fishes at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History use X-ray images, like the one shown, to study the complex bone structure and diversity of fish without having to dissect or damage the specimen.

    Anatomy, Photography, Skates and rays, Smithsonian exhibits
    CREDIT:

    © Sandra Raredon / Smithsonian Institution
  • May 13, 2013
    Zombie worm eats whale bones in Japan's Sagami Bay

    Zombie Worms Eating Whale Bone

    Zombie worms (Osedax roseus) eat away at the bones of a dead whale that has fallen to the seafloor in Sagami Bay, Japan. These bizarre worms rely on whale bones for energy and are what scientists call “sexually dimorphic”—the male and female forms are markedly different. In this case, the males are microscopic and live inside the bodies of the female worms! This allows females to produce many, many eggs to disperse across the seafloor. Few of these will land close enough to sunken bones to survive.

    Feeding, Whales
    CREDIT:

    Yoshihiro Fujiwara/JAMSTEC
  • May 10, 2013
    Laysan albatross with a chick.

    Laysan Albatross with a Chick

    The Laysan albatross (Phoebastria immutabilis) breeds mainly in Hawaii and other Pacific islands where male and female pairs will incubate their egg for nine weeks. The pair participates in an elaborate courtship dance where movements and noises bond them together for the rest of their lives. After breeding season is over the birds move north and west towards Japan and Alaska.

    Cephalopods, Migration, Reproduction, Squids
    CREDIT:

    Kevin Rolle
  • May 9, 2013

    Sea Ice in its Ever-Changing Forms

    For two months, Cassandra Brooks, a marine scientist with Stanford University, travelled on an ice-breaking ship through the Ross Sea in the Antarctica—and she filmed the whole thing. A camera hooked to the front of the ship recorded the ship’s travels, and the ever-changing sea ice.

    Antarctic
    CREDIT:

    Cassandra Brooks, Stanford University
  • May 8, 2013
    The long barbel on the chin of this dragonfish has a glowing tip that may attract prey.

    Scaly Dragonfish

    The long barbel on the chin of this dragonfish (Stomias boa) has a glowing tip that may attract prey. With its large mouth and sharp, curved teeth, the fish makes quick work of any prey that venture too close. Scaly dragonfish live at depths of 200-1,500 meters (656-4,921 feet) and grow up to 32 centimeters (12.6 inches) long.

    Bioluminescence, Predation
    CREDIT:

    © David Shale
  • May 7, 2013
    A beautiful bromeliad blooms among the mud and roots of a mangrove swamp.

    Dancing Bulb

    This beautiful bromeliad, also called an air plant because it gets its nutrients and water from the air, is a flowering plant in the pineapple family. All of them are epiphytes, meaning they get their support from and grow on other plants. Many are found in mangrove forests, such as this one making house on a mangrove root. It's not known whether they provide any benefit to the trees, but when the bromeliads lose their leaves and petals, they fall into the water and provide nutrients to the underwater ecosystem.

    CREDIT:

    © 2004 Smithsonian Institution