Introduction Sea urchins are essentially folded-up sea stars. Very poky folded-up sea stars with spikes poky enough that even I might consider putting some shoes on my feet. Maybe. Today, we’re finishing our exploration of the hedgehog-skinned echinoderms. Climbing up the Tree of Life one group at a time. Most sea urchins look exactly like…
There is a photo from one of our dive trips that confused the shit out of me. A fuzzy structure that looked somewhat coral-like but wasn’t. When my husband said it was a cucumber, I was sure he was joking. Months later, I found a similar photo online and realized he’d not only meant it…
When I learned how to dive, a whole new world opened up—but it soon felt like this world was dying! Sargassum seaweed was taking over where kelp forests had been, and bristle stars took over entire reefs. It was at the height of the mysterious sea star wasting syndrome, and many thought one of the…
Eating baby turtles got crabs a bad reputation, but there is much more to these ten-legged living armors—and more to their relationship with turtles, too. So, let’s take a deep breath and dive in.
Between lobsters the color of cotton candy, depressed lobster men, and misinformation spread by the wonderful Phoebe from Friends, there is a lot to learn about lobsters. Let’s dive in.
Shrimp are the cleaners of the ocean and can even influence the current of the ocean. I’ll tell you all about shrimp. They are way more interesting than you think!
Shrimp are underwater bugs? Or are bugs flying shrimp? In this one, we’re talking about crustaceans. From land crabs the size of dinner plates to tiny krill that feed the whales, this group holds some cool members.
We are finally talking about octopuses. Octopuses are definitely in the top three of my favorite animals, so I’m more than excited. Between the vampire squid from hell and cute little Dumbo-eared octopuses, there is a lot to talk about, so let’s dive in.
Sea cuttles, also wrongly named cuttlefish, are masters of disguise. Chameleons don’t even compete. But that’s not the only cool thing about these cute blobs of awesome. So, let’s talk about cuttles!