iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

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Jennifer Clausen @jacsciart.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

My finished Lookdown illustration for today's #SundayFishSketch 🐡

$An illustration of a school of Lookdowns swimming in shallow water. The fish are swimming to the right side of the image, and the water is a turquoise color. The bottom is sandy, and the light shining through the waves refracts chaotically on the sand. Behind the Lookdowns is a school of small, nondescript fish swimming near the bottom.$

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iNaturalist @inaturalist.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

Our Observation of the Day is this bright red squid (potentially in the genus Onychoteuthis), seen in Spain by marcm13! More details at: www.inaturalist.org/observations...

A bright red squid with a black eye floats in vibrant blue water.

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invertebrate @crevicedwelling.bsky.social · 23/03/2025

sometimes the stupid video memories my phone makes for me are actually brilliant

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

#fishmas day 17 + 18! Dwarf seahorses are truly tiny, with adults only reaching a meagre 2 inches. Meanwhile, lined seahorses are monsters in comparison. Occasionally reaching a mighty 7in, they will consume anything small enough to fit into their mouths- this includes small fish. #25DaysofFishmas

Close-up photograph of a dwarf seahorse laid out between two of my fingers, submerged underwater. It has a slender body with a tail that takes up half of the body's length, tapering to a point. It's head is shaped much like any other seahorse, except with a knob-like bump on the head and a very short snout. It's eye is large- save for the pupil, it is mottled in the same shades of brown and green as the rest of the body. The lattice-like bony rings that give the seahorse it's rigid form are visible beneath the skin. The seahorse's color is a mottled brown with green accents, as well as small pale spots.

A photograph of an adult male lined seahorse laid out on my hand, submerged in water. Unlike the dwarf seahorse, it is far larger, with it's head resting nicely on my thumb and the body spanning the length of my palm, tail curled around the base of my pinkie. This seahorse lacks the knob-like bump atop the head and has a much longer snout typical of most other seahorses. The belly is large and round, and the seahorse is a brown and orange-copper color with many dark brown streaks and lines. The tail, however, is a much darker brown. The back, tail, and head possess tiny stippled white spots. The bony rings are visible just underneath the skin, and form rows of hard spikes down either side of the seahorse as well as two rows along it's back and tail.

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 19/12/2024

#crustmas day 18 (and 17) - double feature! Pink shrimp can attain respectable sizes, with large individuals measuring up to about 10 inches long. Speaking from experience, they grow fast! The flat bodies of green porcelain crabs allow them to hide in very narrow spaces. They're quite secretive.

Photograph of a pink shrimp in my hand, submerged underwater. It's a straight-bodied, rather robust shrimp with a pinkish red hue and a slightly translucent body. It has little in the way of distinct markings, except for a pale rim on the back edges of each uropod. The antennae are very long, longer than the body's length, and extend out of frame. The shrimp's eyes gleam yellow and red tones as they react to the camera's flash.

Another pink shrimp in my hand, this time lifted from the water. The shrimp's shell is a slight orangeish pink and translucent. Extremely faint stippled stripes are present on it's smooth, reflective shell.

Close-up photograph of a green porcelain crab on the surface of a orangeish-brown sponge. The crab, actually a species of squat lobster, has a flattened, round body, which are dwarfed by it's extremely large, broad claws spread outwards from the body. The claws are flattened but not blunt, terminating in sharp tips. The outer margins of the claws have a somewhat thick layer of short fuzz, as does the outer rim of the crab's carapace. It's walking legs are rather stout, and flattened as the rest of the body is. The crab's carapace is covered in fine ridges and bumps, and it's color is a mottled green. The legs have a sparse coating of fine hairs.

Head-on view of a green porcelain crab in a photo tank. It's legs raise it from the ground, and the crab has it's claws raised, assuming what can be interpreted as a defensive stance- though this is likely coincidence. The crab peers out from one of it's flat claws with one eye. The underside of the claws and body are varying shades of red and dirty orange.

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

For day 16 of #fishmas, another sunfish- a warmouth (Lepomis gulosus). It is a tough species, capable of surviving temperature extremes and oxygen-depleted water. As long as there is enough small prey (it is not choosy) and enough plants to hide in, it is happy. #25DaysofFishmas

Close-up photograph of a warmouth in a photo tank, with the lake it resides in visible in the background. It is a swampy-looking fish, with a green base coloration with brown-maroon stripes and blotches running down it's sides. The fins, minus the pectoral and caudal fins, are clad in spikes and held out from the body. The eye is purplish, and the scales of the flanks reflect a reddish purple tinge. On the side of it's head, several brown spots travel from it's eye and stretch to the outer edge of the operculum.

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 17/12/2024

Ancinus depressus, the flat pillbug, for day 16 of #crustmas! This is a wonderfully rectangular, flat isopod that likes the sandy, shelly substrates of nearshore marine habitats, particularly beaches. When threatened, it rolls into a ball. It's flat, broad shape means it can only try it's best.

Close-up photograph of Ancinus depressus, a white, rectangular-shaped, flattened isopod in the palm of my hand. It's eyes are tiny, and on either side of it's head at the front of it's body. It's telson is triangular and large, taking up a considerable portion of the animal's length (about a quarter). It's shell is pale, white and subtly mottled greyish tones.

Close-up photograph of Ancinus depressus, a white, rectangular-shaped, flattened isopod in the palm of my hand. It is now attempting to roll into a ball, but due to it's shape, it can only manage a wide, oblong form. It's telson, being so large, juts out prominently from underneath it's head.

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Olaf Nelson @moxostoma.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

Little-known fact: Shortnose Gar can fly! See moxostoma.com/garfrenzy/ for more photos and the whole story. #gar #garweek

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Bugz n Slugz @moistmacro.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

It’s still #Fishmas and so today we have Enchelycore pardalis - the Dragon Moray from the southern coastal waters of Oman. This was the one and only time that I ever saw one of these and don’t they look friendly. #MarineLife #UnderwaterPhotography #TeamFish

A photograph of the head of a moray eel - its background colour is white but it is covered in black/brown stripes and patterning that help break up its outline for camouflage. Its mouth is slightly agape showing off its sharp and numerous teeth.

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viep5.bsky.social @viep5.bsky.social · 03/12/2024

Lamprohaminoea evelinae Oskars & Malaquias, 2020 Location: Bali, Indonesia 🇮🇩 #MolluscMonday #MolluskMonday #seaslug

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Ian Beavis @ianbeavis.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Some artwork for #Crustmas from one of my favourites - Alister Hardy's 'The Open Sea - The World of Plankton' in the New Naturalist series, published in 1956

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Ian Beavis @ianbeavis.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Some deep water planktonic crustaceans from Alister Hardy's 'The Open Sea - The World of Plankton' (1956) #Crustmas

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Animal Aspects (Art History Animalia) @animal-aspects.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

#Crustmas 🦞: Ohno Bakufu (大野麦風, Japan, 1888–1976) Spiny #Lobster イセエビ, 1950-60s Watercolor, hand painted on shikishi art board, 25 x 27cm www.ohmigallery.com/DB/ItemDetai... #JapaneseArt

watercolor illustration of a colorful Japanese lobster against plain off-white background, positioned diagonally in frame with head towards upper left and tail towards lower right, with artist signature and stamp visible on lower right side

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

The formidable barbfish, Scorpaena brasiliensis, is the star of day 15 of #fishmas. The venom sequestered within each fin spine is potent, and causes a laundry list of nasty symptoms, not to mention severe pain. The 'cool' factor is undeniable. #25DaysofFishmas

Photograph of a barbfish inside of a photo tank. It's resting on the bottom, propped upright with it's huge, fan-like pectoral fins, which are a bright, vivid red. Just above the eyes are large, branching skin extensions, which resemble antlers. The overall color of the fish is a dark brown-red dorsally, grading into a red and then into a cream color near the belly and underside of the head. The fish is covered in leaf-like flaps of skin, which give it a soft appearance. The head is craggy and rough. The dorsal fin is raised slightly, with each spine white-tipped. The fish resembles a stone overgrown with algae, somewhat.

Close-up photo of the same barbfish, now head-on. The mouth is curved downwards and gives the impression of a scowl. All of the flaps of skin on the head are clearly visible, giving the appearance of a patchy mane. The elongate skin extensions above the eyes are in full view, and resemble antlers or massive, bushy eyebrows. The underside of the lower jaw is patchy and heavily mottled cream and brown.

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 16/12/2024

A hairy hermit crab, Paguristes karenae, for day 15 of #crustmas! True to it's name, this species is covered in a thick coat of luxurious brown fur. Additionally, this species was described recently, only two years ago. I think they're really, really cute...

Close-up photograph of a hairy hermit crab in a horse conch shell. The shell is an orange-red color, and the hermit crab erupts from the shell's aperture, completely covered in a thick, shaggy coat of light brown fur. The shell underneath the fuzz is an orange color, and the tips of the walking legs are black. The claws are broad and flat, and also covered in fur. The claws tips are black. The crab's eyestalks are long, colored white with a black ring-like marking in the middle of each. The crab's complicated mouthparts are black and white striped.

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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

A hermit crab of some kind in a #Humboldt tide pool for this 14th day of #Crustmas. (The shell is from a wentletrap snail.) 🦀🤿

A small hermit crab climbing around in some pink coralline algae. Its claws and legs are light yellow, while its antennae, mouthparts, and eye stalks are red. The shell it's in is white and forms a high spire with nine whorls which terminate in a little button-like point. The crab is in the lower right central part of the image, and the shell extends almost to the upper left corner. Each whorl has many transverse prominent ridges including on the largest whorl right above the crabs face. The crab is peaking out from under this ridge, and its eyes appear to be reflecting light from the camera's flash. The algae has a central stalk made of segments, and each segment holds two lateral branches that extend outwards at a 45-degree angle. The algae is pinkish, and each branch has a white tip. There are also many small dark brown objects clinging to the algae, which may be diatoms.

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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

A rockhead poacher in a #Humboldt tide pool at night for this 14th day of #Fishmas. 🐟🤿🌙

A mostly bright orange fish resting on the bottom on top of some gray rocks that are almost as big as the fish. The surrounding rocks are encrusted with pink algae and there are a few blades of dark green surf grass crisscrossing the picture. The fish is seen from above, but at an angle so that only one eye is visible. It is facing to the right. The fish has a relatively large head with two prominent bumps where horns on a goat would be. It has many other bumps around its cheek area, and an indentation on top of its robust head between the two larger bumps. It's no surprise that this fish is called a "rockhead" poacher. Its body tapers abruptly from its head. The body appears to be squarish in cross-section and has a series of many bony-looking plates that form ridges along the side and top of the body. There are also three black bands on the body, but they are incomplete and kind of blotchy. The fan-like pectoral fins appear to be shiny and black and seem to be reflecting some of the orange from the fish. The two small dorsal fins are also dark. The eye is black and yellow with the colors arranged in a sort-of kaleidoscope pattern. The head tapers to a blunt point and the eye is very near the end. The mouth is not visible, but it must be small. Overall, it is a very strange looking fish.

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でんか @k-hermit.com · 15/12/2024

Spanish dancer

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Bugz n Slugz @moistmacro.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

Day 15 of #25DaysofCrustmas and we have Rhynchocinetes durbanensis - called the Durban Dancing Shrimp.

A photo from above of a transparent shrimp with red and white lines across the body. It has emerald green eyes and is sat on an orange encrusting bryozoan.

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Lisa @tuexplorer1.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

Super awesome to finally see a video of this Dolichopteryx longipes! I'm a fan of any barreleye.

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セーフガード @defy-6p70.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

OCEANA Euorpe - Canary Islands Expedition 2014

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

And for day 14 of #fishmas, spotted sunfish (not the Mola kind...) The spotted sunfish is an endemic to the southeastern United States, primarily Florida. These individuals live inside of a flooded sinkhole, where they are one of the only few species of fish present. #25DaysofFishmas

Underwater photograph of a spotted sunfish, taken form behind. The fish is looking downwards, as it eclipses two others. It swims in blue, clear water. The brown color with white-rimmed fins, black 'ear' patches, and innumerable black spots in rows down the body are hallmarks of this species, and shown to great effect in this photo.

Underwater photograph of a spotted sunfish. Sunlight dapples down from above, casting small rainbow shimmers on it's surface. The floor of the flooded sinkhole in which it lives is visible in the background. Another characteristic of the spotted sunfish is it's vibrant blue 'eyeliner', visible as a stripe underneath the eye of the fish.

Underwater photograph of a pair of spotted sunfish, taken from above. Their lower jaws jut out slightly, and from this angle it appears that they have a furrowed brow, though this is only the shape of their head.

Underwater photograph of an inquisitive spotted sunfish peering closely into the camera in the darkness, below the roof of the sinkhole where it leads into a cave system. The fish is encroaching far into the focal range, so it's face is blurry. It's eyes are blue and reflective.

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 15/12/2024

It's the 14th day of #crustmas! Today, a seasonally appropriate peppermint shrimp (Lysmata boggessi). This species lives in seagrass beds, oyster reefs, and in sponges unlike many species in the genus. Their vivid color and way of moving, swaying back and forth, make them popular in aquariums.

Close-up photograph of a peppermint shrimp, Lysmata boggessi, riding on my finger. The shrimp's body is a vivid shade of red and it's body is translucent. The red color pigment is arranged in thin stripes, with unpigmented spaces allowing one to see light passing through the body of the shrimp. It's eyes are black, with a dark stripe on the top surface of each eyestalk. The tail fins (uropods) are a deep crimson color. The shrimp is quite small, only about an inch long. Yellowish-green branching algae is visible in the background.

Close-up photograph of a huge female peppermint shrimp (Lysmata boggessi) in my hand. For her species she is massive, approximately two inches long. Her entire body is a bright red, with the unpigmented stripes characteristic for the species hardly visible. She is robust, with a thick abdomen and cephalothorax. Her uropods are a darker red color than the first. She is the largest and most vibrantly colored peppermint shrimp I have ever seen.

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D. Allan Drummond @dadrummond.art · 14/12/2024

Semibalanus balanoides in steel, bronze, and silver for #Crustmas

My sculpture of the common rock barnacle Semibalanus balanoides viewed from the top with my hand for scale. The barnacle is feeding, with its legs fully deployed in a wide fan emerging from the folds of its soft tissues. The shell is rough bronze-infiltrated steel, warm in color; you can see some details of how the plates of the shell interlock.

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Drew @drewavery.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

Green Gar {Esox osseus} Ökonomische Naturgeschichte der Fische Deutschlands  (Economic natural history of fish in Germany) 1783 Biodiversity Heritage Library

Longnose Gar {Esox osseus}
Ökonomische Naturgeschichte der Fische Deutschlands 
(Economic natural history of fish in Germany) 1783
Biodiversity Heritage Library

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Bob Ellis 🐟 @drfishcounter.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

On the 13th day of #fishmas we also celebrate #FlatsharkFriday with the southern stingray, Hypanus americanus! I found this one down in the Florida Keys and it let me get real close. Of course, I was at the bitey end, not the stingy end, an important distinction! Happy #25DaysofFishmas 🦑

A stingray laying on a sandy ocean bottom with small rocks to the right and soft corals (sea fans) to the left.

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Matt @xenomatt.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

Ambon scorpionfish (Pteroidichthys amboinensis), Lembeh #Fishmas #MarineLife 🐟🌊

Head and upper body of an Ambon scorpionfish. It is well-disguised by the numerous fronds and skin flaps that grow from it, making it look like a nondescript bit of weed.

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Michael Middlebrooks @secretsluglab.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

The spotted porcelain crab, Porcellana sayana, which often lives as a #commensal inside of the shell of the giant red hermit crab, Petrochirus diogenes. That is excactly where I found this one hanging out in Tampa, FL. #crustmas #invertebrate

A cute little porcelain crab. The crab is orange/red with lots of white spots ringed in red all over its body.

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

It's day 13 of #crustmas! This is the blue spot hermit, a small hermit crab that doesn't surpass a few centimeters. Named for their prominent blue spots on the inner surface of their arms, their eyes and antennae also take on a bluish hue. The feathery antennae catch small pieces of floating food.

A photograph of a blue-spot hermit peering out of a cerith shell in which it resides. The vivid blue spot on the inner surface of the 'forearm' is visible, and rimmed strongly with black pigment. The hermit's shell is of a cerith, an elongate cone-shaped snail. My finger is partially visible in the background, holding up and dwarfing the entire animal. The crab's body and legs are a beige cream color, with each leg bearing reddish stripes. The hermit crab has a somewhat sparse, furry coat.

Close-up photograph of a blue spot hermit amongst green, fuzzy algae-covered shells. It's eyestalks peer from it's shell, with light blue eyes and blue-tinged antennae. Two of the antennae possess long filaments, the entire structure resembling a bird's feather somewhat. Fine hair covers the crab's body. The titular blue spot is visible.

Close-up photograph of a blue-spot hermit, head on. Both blue spots on the arms are easily visible and very vivid. Two of the antennae have missing tips.

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 14/12/2024

For day 13 of #fishmas, a bandtail puffer. Of gulf Florida's puffers, the bandtail is amongst the smallest. Small extensions on the skin are effective aids in camouflage, and the row of black spots along the lower flank as well as the reflective eyes are especially beautiful. #25DaysofFishmas

A close-up photograph of a bandtail puffer, facing the camera and appearing to show a cheeky smirk. It's eyes bulge up from it's head, like a frog. It's body curves slightly, and the back is stony-colored, mostly greyish-brown and strongly mottled with small projections, mimicking algae growth. It's eyes have a bluish-green iridescent sheen. The fish is strongly countershaded, with it's cheek and belly taking on a white color.

A photograph displaying the bandtail puffer's camoflauge ability. The patchy, indistinct patterns on it's dorsal surface conceal it well against the background of oysters when viewed from above. It takes on the hue of the green water, made so by a high abundance of algae. The projections on the skin of the puffer make it appear as if there is algae growth on it's surface.

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geosesarma.bsky.social @geosesarma.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

stripes (Caranx hippos, Amatitlania nigrofasciata, Heterotilapia buettikoferi, Archosargus probatocephalus)

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Katie O'Reilly @drkatfish.bsky.social · 13/12/2024

biblically-accurate paper snowflake

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

For day 12 of #fishmas, and keeping on-theme, here's a baby and adult leopard searobin. The odd little 'fingers' under the head are modified fin rays, and are used to walk and feel around in soft substrates for buried prey. They are covered in taste buds and are very sensitive. #25DaysofFishmas

Photograph of a juvenile leopard searobin held in the palm of my hand. It is scarcely an inch long, with a large head in front of a tail that tapers off quickly. It's wing-like pectoral fins are little, and spread wide like paper fans. The three free pectoral fin rays, resembling the legs of an insect, are held out forwards just underneath the head in front of the pectoral fins. The body color is light brown, with subtly darker bars.

Photo of a leopard searobin sitting on my hand just under the surface. It's much larger than the juvenile, taking up most of the space of my hand with just the front half of it's body. The winglike pectoral fins are not fully spread, but are much wider. They feature reddish spots. The little 'legs' are also more robust. The fish is shot from dorsal view, and it's body coloration is akin to that of the juvenile but much darker. The fish features distinct spots along it's flanks, and it's caudal fin is noticeably spotted as well. It's head is slightly flattened, with two eyes on top somewhat like a frog, seated upon a mouth that is somewhat comparable to the bill of a duck.

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Alison Young @alisonkestrel.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Today for the #25DaysofCrustmas we're venturing to a shrimpy branch of the family tree. Meet Taylor's Coastal Shrimp (Heptacarpus taylori), which I often find in the #tidepools. As a species in Thoridae, these are also known as broken-back shrimp. They come in festive #Crustmas colors too!

A small red shrimp standing on a patch of dark green-colored algae. The shrimp has a hump in its back and has white and reddish-brown banded legs.

A small shrimp seen from above, standing on a surface covered in sand and brown algae. The shrimp has a pink head, then a white band, then is bright green down to its tail with a patch of white in the green where it has a humped back. The tail has some pink in the center, surrounded by green.

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

Happy day 12 of #crustmas! These are Florida stone crabs- baby and adult. Young stone crabs are tiny and purple, more like a smooth pebble than a stone. Adults, meanwhile, are heavily-armed, brown, and comparatively rugged.

Close-up photo of a very small Florida stone crab, balanced on two of my fingers. The color of it's shell, legs, and claws is a deep blackish purple, without markings except for a white blotch and stripe on each of the walking legs. The eyes are a deep amber color. The shell of this crab is smooth and slick. It's giant claws are tucked underneath it's body.

Photograph of a large adult Florida stone crab in dorsal view. It's shell is mottled with lots of dark brown spots. The legs are brown with dark, thick stripes. The rim of the carapace has become more rugged, with subtle bumps. The crab's most striking feature is it's monstrously large claws, which take up almost as much mass as the central body. They are held to the sides and tucked underneath and in front of the body. The outer surface of the claws take on a very slight purple undertone, and the inner surface of the claws are orange. The tips are black.

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NorCal Lynne @norcal-lynne.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

#Crustmas 🦀 Crab sketch painted in 1814 at the Maruyama-Shijo School Japan. © The Trustees of the British Museum. 🦑 #SciArt #Invertebrates

Ink and colors on paper of a large crab, painted in different tones of brown and black, with white highlights.

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Bugz n Slugz @moistmacro.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

It’s still #Fishmas so here is a little festive looking goby - in fact it is Trimma avidori - a type of Pygmy goby from the Red Sea. The little pattern around its eye is what helps to ID this species - but you need to get close to look properly. #MarineLife

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Bob Ellis 🐟 @drfishcounter.bsky.social · 12/12/2024

On the 11th day of #fishmas the yellowtail snapper, Ocyurus chrysurus! Like the porkfish (see #fishmas day 10), yellowtail snapper are increasing in abundance further north along the Florida Gulf coast. Driven, we think, by warmer winter low temperatures. Happy #25DaysofFishmas 🦑

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HulloThere @jethroreading32.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

It would be impossible to cover bioluminescence for #25DaysOfFishmas and not discuss lanternfish. They are, by biomass, the most important group of mesopelagic fish, and are highly diverse, so I've just picked my personal favourite - Lampadena speculigera, the mirror lanternfish.

A glossy, jet-black fish placed on a white measuring board with centimetre and millimetre markings - the fish is approximately 10cm in length. The tail fin is deeply forked, and just forwards of this there are two large white light organs that are highly reflective on the top and bottom of the caudal peduncle, the fleshy part of the tail. The dorsal fin is large and placed just forwards of the midpoint of the fish. The fish is fusiform in shape. It has a large eye which reflects back a dim, glassy green, the only pop of colour on the whole animal. The scales are an obsidian black. Credit: Own photo.

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HulloThere @jethroreading32.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

We're gonna finish off our Communication topic with a return to the deep sea, revisiting one of the stomiids I covered for last year's #25DaysOfFishmas. This gorgeous mesopelagic monster is Echiostoma barbatum, the threadfin dragonfish.

A threadfin dragonfish, Echiostoma barbatum. The body is roughly sausage shaped, with a fairly small head, which has a small eye and a toothy mouth, alongside a thin, small barbel. Under the eye, there is a huge photophore, which is a creamy, solid white, that is several times larger than the eye (this individual is male). The colour of the fish is a muddy bronze. The pectoral fins are placed far forwards, just behind the gills, and one fin ray of the pectoral fin is very elongate. The pelvic fins are filamentous and are found just behind the midline of the fish. Both dorsal and anal fins are placed very far back, just next to the tail fin. Credit: Rob Zugaro, Museums Victoria via Fishes of Australia.

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DiRebecca (Di) @direbecca.bsky.social · 10/12/2024

Here is a cute little Western Sea Slater (Ligia occidentalis) for today's #crustmas offering.💚 #Isopods 📷🦀

Close-up of mottled dark and light grey isopod climbing up black rock with attached tiny barnacles scattered around.

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Gabriel Jensen @shallowseasgallery.com · 11/12/2024

Freedrifting longsnout seahorse (hippocampus reidi) about three miles offshore while drifting in the #gulfstream. After a #seahorse give birth, their larvae sometimes get swept out to sea, joining the #plankton where they will then grow up on the drifting seaweed. #marinelife 🦑 #blackwater

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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

I believe this is a fluffy sculpin (Oligocottus snyderi) in a #Humboldt tide pool for #Fishmas. 🐟🤿

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Steve Haddock @stevehaddock.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

I'm more of a jellyfish person, but for #crustmas, I can share a couple of my favorite deep-sea crustaceans: Anuropus is an isopod which lives inside the bell of the giant medusa Deepstaria, and Nebaliopsis is a speedy swimmer, seen here brooding its young. 🦑🧪🌊

Orange crustacean poised with its sharp-tipped appendages grasping into space. Photo S. Haddock © MBARI

White crustacean with its carapace filled with eggs. S. Haddock © MBARI

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Jo Wolfe, PhD @jopabinia.bsky.social · 11/12/2023

For #Crustmas I will give you so many ostracods, with calcified shells enclosing the body. These are myodocopes: "Giant" (3 cm) Gigantocypris with mirror eyes, bioluminescent sexual displays in the Luxorina, eyeless cave dwellers like Spelaeoecia, and SO many fossils (here with pyritized eggs) 🧪🦑

Perfect ROUND ostracod, in orange, viewed from the front where you can see its giant round mirrored eyes, and its antennae that look like whiskers coming out of the gap in the bivalved (yet so round) shell
https://twilightzone.whoi.edu/explore-the-otz/creature-features/giant-ostracod/

A long exposure captures ostracods (doing bioluminescent courtship displays) in motion on a Bonaire reef, driven in part by currents. Kyle McBurnie
https://www.science.org/content/article/sea-fireflies-caribbean-shining-new-light-evolution

Lateral view of Spelaeoecia, cave ostracod from Bermuda. It is translucent and has no eyes, and most of its appendages peek a bit out of the more elongated bivalved carapace
https://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/09bermuda/background/plan/media/spelaeoecia.html

Ventral view of Luprisca incuba, 443 million year old fossil. You see it splayed out with appendages, the furca at the bottom, and a few eggs on either side of the furca. All preserved in pyrite.
Photo of YPM IP 307300 is from David Siveter, but I can't find the version with scale bar. It's about 1.5 mm long

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でんか @k-hermit.com · 12/12/2024

🐙

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

For day 11 of #fishmas is a ballyhoo! This one is a juvenile. Ballyhoo are a species of halfbeak, a group of flyingfish and needlefish relatives. Many exhibit an extremely long, disproportionate lower jaw- as for the ballyhoo, it gets much, much longer with age. These fish are accomplished jumpers.

Close-up photograph of a juvenile ballyhoo. It's body is long and cylindrical, with the head of the fish with an extremely tiny upper jaw and a lance-like lower jaw many times the upper jaw's length. The lower lobe of the caudal fin, similarly, is longer than the upper lobe. As a juvenile, it's coloration is different from the adults- bright, light green dorsally, with silver sides and brown-green mottling instead of pure greenish-blue and silver. The upper portions of the head are reflective lime green, and the lower jaw is colored varying shades of copper and greenish hue. Two flaps of skin stretch from the lower jaw's upper tip to the head.

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Squidpastry @squidpastry.bsky.social · 11/12/2024

For day 11 of #crustmas is another crab, the spineback hairy crab- also called a gorilla crab by some. The thick coat of hair that covers it's body conceals the stout, sharp thorns that cover almost the entirety of it's surface. These crabs love living in sponges, and are difficult to extract.

Close-up photograph of a spineback hairy crab held in my hand, out of the water. It's coating of bristly hair lies mostly flat against it's shell, slicked back by gravity. Almost entirely coating it's huge claws are a prominent array of sharp, thorny spines. The claws have dark brown tips, and the body of the crab is various shades of brown. The walking legs have an especially thick coating of hair.

Three spineback hairy crabs of various sizes, held in my hand underwater, photographed in dorsal view. Each of them have a thick coating of bristly hair as is characteristic of this species. All have a muddy brown coloration, and one individual is threatening to pinch down on my finger. All of the rest have their claws tucked underneath their carapaces, beady eyes almost lost within their furry coats.

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