Strange but true…

Strange but true…

Sea Cucumber

• Echinoderms (like starfish, sea urchins, sand dollars)
• Radially symmetrical
• Have a water-vascular system that functions as hydraulic muscles
• Eat decaying matter that floats in the water or is in the sand

The biggest sea cucumber, the tiger's tail sea cucumber, is about 2 m long

• The biggest sea cucumber, the tiger's tail sea cucumber, is about 2 m long

Star fish and Brittle stars

• These marine invertebrates move very slowly along the sea bed.
• There are over 2,000 different species of brittle stars

• Brittle stars are mainly detrivores; they eat decaying matter and plankton.
• Some brittle stars can also kill small animals. They push their stomach out through their mouth with 5 teeth (located on the underside) and digest the prey (there is no anus).
• Sea stars are carnivores. They eat clams, oysters, coral, fish, and other animals.

Sea horses…and sea dragons?

• coronet: nearly as unique as a human thumbprint
• dorsal fin: moves fish forward
• pectoral fins: control turning and steering
• eyes: each eye moves independently

reproduction: male becomes pregnant when a female deposits her eggs into his pouch; pregnancy lasts about two to three weeks; once the male gives birth, he usually becomes pregnant again right away

• reproduction: male becomes pregnant when a female deposits her eggs into his pouch; pregnancy lasts about two to three weeks; once the male gives birth, he usually becomes pregnant again right away
• diet: consume up to 3,000 brine shrimp each day; have no teeth and swallow food whole
• species: about 35
• size: from 1/4 inch to a foot or more
• range: temperate and tropical coastal waters

Life is hard for the seahorse!!

• Natural predators, such as crab, tuna, skates, and rays
• Storms are the biggest natural cause of death for adult seahorses (tear them from their holdfasts, to be cast ashore or die of exhaustion).
• Seahorses are sought after for:
• Chinese medicine Aquariums Souvenirs

Sea Dragons!

Dragons!

• Close relatives of sea horses.
• Larger bodies and leaf-like appendages (can hide among floating seaweed or kelp beds).
• Feed on larval fishes and amphipods (mysids - "sea lice").

Nudibranchs

Nudibranch fun facts:

• Also known as sea slugs
• Mollusks
• 3000 species
• Essentially snails without shells
• Name means "naked gill"
• Benthic organisms (live on the ocean bottom)
• Grazing carnivores
• Simultaneous hermaphrodites (possess both male and female sex organs at the same time)
• Very bright colors may be warning to predators that they are toxic!

• Giant swimming nudibranch

Giant Clam

• Mollusk
• Bivalve (2 shells)
• Southern & Western Pacific
• and Indian Oceans
• Diet: plankton and nutrients
• produced by symbiotic algae
• The algae also gives part of its colour

Sea Anemones

Sea Anemones: look like plants, but are actually animals!

• Invertebrates (no skeleton)
• Coelenterates
• Live attached to firm objects in the seas (sea floor, rock, or coral), but they can slide around very slowly.
• Carnivorous
• Mutualism: Clown fish always live near anemones; they are immune from (and protected by) the stinging tentacles. The clown fish help the anemone by cleaning the tentacles (as the fish eat detritus) and perhaps by scaring away predators.

Sponges

Sessile (can’t move)

• Sessile (can’t move)
• Radial or no symmetry.
• Suspension feeders.
• Drive water through systems of canals/chambers, capturing small particles of food and ingesting them.
• No tissues (simplest multicellular animal)

“Strange But True” In Class Assignment

• Create a chart like the one below on white paper and complete:

Name of Marine Creature	2-3 Interesting Facts
Sea Cucumber
Star Fish
Brittle Star
Sea Horse
Sea Dragon
Nudibranch
Giant Clam
Sea Anenome
Sponge