Category Archives: animals

vacation snaps of the abyss

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everybody say IA! 

Ooooh, I know where I want to go for my next vacation.

“The Deep is not only the most stunningly beautiful book about the sea ever produced, but also a work of scientific substance, articulated by some of the best, most experienced deep-sea scientists of our time. Even for those of us who have been enchanted by the wondrous life of the deep sea through direct engagement, this book renews the spirit and makes it possible to share with others a vicarious glimpse of the wild ocean.”
—Sylvia Earle, National Geographic Society

These are amazing shots of unknown sea life from the deepest depths of the world’s oceans. If you can get past the annoying Flash intro to the gallery pages, you’ll see some truly amazing photographs. They may look familiar, because a diggbait site stole and posted some last week, but this is the real source: accept no substitutes!

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the jPod expansion pack has arrived!

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jPod Orca

But not technically landed. via Fark.

It’s pinkish and smiley. It’s stuck to its momma’s side, rising in and out of the waves like a shiny merry-go-round creature…

Scientists won’t know if the calf is a male or female until it rolls over and shows its belly. They do know it belongs to a family of local orcas called the J pod. And they know it has three siblings.

That’s good news for the little orca, which is being called J42 according to birth order.

The unit automatically upgrades to Carnivore in 12-24 months, and has an expected window of operability of between 20-40 years, depending on usage.

Note that installation of the jPod unit in a SeaWorld environment may void your warranty.

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stormy weather

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slug, common or garden or ceiling 

So…it finally stopped raining.

And I have been waiting patiently for an hour as a…

slug…

makes its slow, patient way across my ceiling, occasionally looping downward on a connecting wall, although never down enough for me to take up arms, or at least stubby brooms, against it, then suctioning its painful, Sir Edmund Hilarious way back up, out of reach.

If it lets go and falls on my clean laundry, I think I may just have to kill myself.

Still, I guess it’s a step up from last year, when I had to pick mushrooms out of the carpet in my living room. I love my apartment: if I stay here long enough, eventually I’ll be able to farm salmon in the bathroom.

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fallen-blossom jellyfish discovered

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Well take a LOOK! What would YOU call them?

stauromedusae jellyfish

Discovered at a depth of over 8500 feet, these beautiful and mysterious life forms are unlike any known jellyfish. What no-one knows is, why are they pink? Colour is theoretical at that incredible depth, as there are no naturally-occurring light sources except the glow of the phosphorescent hunters. If there are gay rights activist/jellyfish enthusiasts out there, this is definitely their totem animal.

The new species is from the Cnidarian (phylum of jellyfish, corals, anemones) order stauromedusae…  The new species is unusual in its color (pink) and its proximity to to the superheated vent fluids.

the Living Intestine: the Juno Ledge Sea Serpent

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We’re talking Sea Monsters, people. So you know we mean business.

Now, everybody knows that Nessie‘s just a big ol’ lump o’ dinosaur, not a serpent at all. And Caddy‘s a figment of some screech-addled sailor’s story-telling impulse. And Ogopogo…well, we do not speak of Ogopogo. The ancient Fossil Shark was a shark, after all, if quite serpentine in spots and from certain angles, especially in candlelight.

But now, at last, we’ve found a genuine Sea Serpent. My shrivelled and blackened heart leaps up…

Beneath the surface of our crystal blue waters live a myriad of marine life.

Sometimes we can see them from the air — steely eyed shark congregating by the thousands, graceful stingray, gliding along the shallows.

But go deeper…

You never know what you’ll find. Just ask Jay Garbose.

“This is a first and I’ve traveled and video’ed all over the world.”

Take a look at what he found and listen to the story — it’s no fish tale.

“I was diving on Juno Ledge. That’s about a mile off shore of Juno Beach. At first I thought it was a sea cucumber although no one has ever seen one stretched 7 to 10 feet the way this one was. It’s sort of grey and putty like and very smooth and taffy like in the way it stretches. Some of my friends and I have sort of dubbed it the living intestine.”

And it is just exactly as beautiful as that description would lead one to believe. At first, I thought it was a hoax. Once I saw it moving and had observed its blundering, slow, mindless, horrible writhings, I prayed it was a hoax.

Click to view, if you dare.

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