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Archive for the ‘Crazy Creatures’ Category
Odd...but tasty
What is this alien looking thing waving its tentacles at the camera? It’s not the most graceful looking mollusk on the planet, but it very well may be the tastiest. Though this species has changed little over the past 500 million years, you may not have come across it if you haven’t been diving on the western coast of North America.
The northern abalone or pinto abalone, Haliotis kamtschatkana, is a species of large edible sea snail. This tasty critter is found in kelp beds along outer well-exposed coasts from Sitka, Alaska along the coast of Canada to Point Conception, California. The pinto abalone has an adult shell size of approximately 4 inches, but it can sometimes grow as large as 6 inches. Its green-brown shell is only ugly on the outside; inside its iridescence is stunning. The northern abalone was classified as endangered on the IUCN Red List in 2006.
Here...fuzzy, fuzzy, fuzzy
Don’t let the fuzzy appearance and funny eyebrows of this ocean bottom-dweller fool you into thinking it’s a cuddly Muppet. It can be absolutely deadly. It’s a master of camouflage, stealthily waiting for prey to wander by before lunging forward to inhale its dinner.
The Ambon Scorpionfish, Pteroidichthys amboinensis, is also known to some as Ambon Firefish, Ambon Goblinfish, Ambon Rockfish, Hairy Scorpionfish and just plain “Hey buddy, get a haircut!” These shaggy critters have large growths above eyes, and are often found in pairs on the ocean floor, on dark sand and amongst debris. They grow up to 8cm and are found at a depth of 10-50m in the Indian and Pacific oceans. When disturbed they raise the venomous spines along their backs and will usually move off out of harms way. But be warned: if cornered they are able to charge at considerable speed.