Creature Feature: Chitons.

Some people really like the idea of techno-organic lifeforms. I don't just mean cyborgs - I mean, theoretically, lifeforms that are mechanical, but reproduce like normal organisms. How this would work, I have very little idea. On one level, however, nature has already beaten them to the punch:

Chitons (Polyplacophores) are a large group of molluscs that, once again, I feel guilty lumping into one entry. I am quite certain that they are all individually fascinating. Chitons are all marine and can be found in virtually any ocean, eating algae off of rocks with a sort of toothy tongue called a radula. The lined chiton (Tonicella lineata) above actually looks pretty trippy. Mollusc-lovers, please don't kill me.

Chitons are a lot like pillbugs. They roll up in defense and can ever roll away from predators. The 8-piece shell is still flexible enough to let the squishy creature beneath it climb up rocks and the like. When a chiton dies, its shells can be washed up on the shore; these are sometimes called "butterfly shells," but they look too edgy to be butterflies. 

This does not look real. Source.

Chiton shells contain a lot of the mineral aragonite. For those of you who know absolutely nothing about organic chemistry, aragonite is not a common organic compound. It's made of calcium, carbon, and oxygen, which are all pretty common, but it is a rock.

Although a lot of mollusc shells are blessed with aragonite in their structures, chitons are the only molluscs that use it like a suit of armor, curling up into calcerous balls while still being allowed to move freely when not under threat. That makes this mollusc the closest thing to a real-life golem on the planet. Sure, it's not quite a robot, but look at it. It's a footfall away from being the next Hex Bug. Get one on your Christmas list today!

Source.

That's not all. Chitons have done something that no other mollusc has ever done with their aragonite: evolved eyes in their shells. The aragonite in chiton shells forms simple lenses that can see light and dark above the armored little slug (again: please don't kill me, mollusc-lovers). THey can, amazingly enough, see equally well above or below water. The most ancient chitons do not have these eyes; if the fossil record is correct, this makes these pseudo-eyes the most recently-evolved eyes in existence. They're almost inorganic eyes.  Tell that to your eye doctor next time you need new glasses!

Although not quite cybernetic, it would be extremely easy to create a mechanical chiton with "eyes" in its metallic shell. Hell add something in there to strengthen the calcium; then we would have a real armored mollusc. The only issue would be making sure the fleshy part could reproduce. Just another thing for science to work on.

Creature Feature: Queen Conch.

Picking up shells on the beach is fun. You aren't supposed to do it, but it's fun anyways. Often, one gets so preoccupied in the shells that the original owners get ignored. For example, ever stop to wonder what's inside a conch shell?

Scary drawing a la Wikipedia. True to life.

...An eldritch horror, that's what. Say hello to the queen conch (Lobatus gigas / Strombus gigas), one of the most alien-looking snails ever. It is native to the Atlantic waters from Florida down to the top part of South America. Thankfully, it is an herbivore and only eats various types of seagrass - particularly turtle grass.

Fear factor 1: Queen conches are big.  They can get up to a foot (30cm) long after just a few years. Adult queens weigh about 5 pounds - way more than a paperweight. The expected lifespan of a single conch is 20-30 years, but age 40 is suspected. Oh, and they breed readily, too.

Found here. Will reappear in my nightmares.

Fear factor 2: Look into its eyes. Along with being huge as with the rest of the snail, queen conches have the most developed eyes of any gastropod. They have a fully-functioning lens and gold iris. It's like they have a vertebrate eye on the end of each stalk. Not even gonna mention that it's got a snout that looks an awful lot like a tentacle between those eyes. Nope.

Queen conches are popular snails. They can be found as captive-bred specimens in the exotic pet trade. They're treated as a delicacy in the Caribbean. Over-harvesting has upped their protection level on CITES, but they aren't endangered (yet). The good news is, this alien-looking snail (snailien?) is no threat. It is, in fact, perfectly edible so long as you mind the laws. Totally puts a new spin on shell-hunting, doesn't it? 

Creature Feature: Sea Hares.

Not enough good things can be said about sea slugs. Really, our land slugs might not be that pretty (and even then, there are a few exceptions), but sea slugs are almost uniformly gorgeous. Even if they aren't breathtakingly pretty, even species as simple as sea hares have their own unique charm.

Aplysia parvula looks quite fetching here. :)

The term "sea hare" covers a few genera, most notably Aplysia. Sea hares are closely related to snails, but the shell, if any, only covers important organs. They eat seaweed, so don't worry about getting bitten by monster slugs should you encounter one. They can be found in the warm waters of California, northern Mexico, and Florida - or, at least, the major ones can be found there. Others can be found in temperate and tropical waters around the world.

As is the norm with invertebrates, there are so many different sorts of sea hares out there that they could almost get their own month on this blog. We will try to focus on the two varieties of California sea hare, simply because they are the two most commonly used in science (Aplysia vaccaria and Aplysia californica).

Sea hares get their name from the pointy rhinophores sticking up out of their heads. They look like rabbit ears, but they aren't for hearing. They allow the slug to smell and taste. Some sea hares ever have extra projections that look like a little bunny tail, just to make the similarity even clearer. Maybe the old tales of everything on land having a parallel in the sea were not so far off, after all.



Sea hares,  like cephalopods, are capable of expelling ink to deter predators. This ink is colored dark red like blood, making it a gross-out factor for anything thinking of eating the slug. A few of them are also poisonous to dogs and fish, just in case the ink is not enough of a deterrent. A. vaccia does not have this ink; the A. californica above clearly does.

Sea hares are the largest gastropods in the world. Looking just at our two model species, A. californica can get some 30 inches (75 cm) from head to rear when fully extended. A. vaccia has topped at 99 centimeters, again when fully extended, and has been recorded at 14 kilos - that's more than 20 pounds in U.S. measurements and quite a lot of escargot.

Sea hares, specifically A. californica, are valuable model organisms in science. On the dissecting table, they have large, brightly-colored neurons that are easy for beginning students of neuroscience to pick out. Despite this simplicity, sea hares can be conditioned and taught simple tricks. The whole genome is being sequenced as we speak. It's just a tiny bit disturbing to know that some of the tricks in human cognition go all the way back to sea slugs, but at the same time, it's pretty cool.

Creature Feature: Giant Ghana Snail.

Normally, there is nothing remotely threatening about snails. Sure, they're slimy and have weird little antennae, but it's not like most snails would make good movie monsters. They have pretty shells and are too slow to be really intimidating. WALK FOR YOUR LIVES!



Actually, wait. That's...kinda terrifying, especially for a snail.

The giant Ghana snail, or, alternatively, giant tiger land snail, is exactly what its name says it is: a giant, terrestrial snail native to western Africa. It just so happens to sport a very attractive shell. It eats any number of plants. Very, very slowly. Luckily, they mean humans no harm.

How big is big? Since slugs are a bit hard to measure, scientists usually measure shell length/diameter. The largest shell ever found was roughly 30 cm long. Average length is around 18 centimeters. Use a converter if you like, but what you really need to know is this:




Did we mention that these are spreading around the world's humid regions? They make decent pets, but, if unleashed, can feed on over 500 different types of plants. They also breed like crazy. They are  frequently quarantined, but have not yet been established in the U.S. Florida is slowly developing a population, but they are not as big a problem as, say, Burmese pythons. India has it much worse; salting the snails is a daily occurrence.

The snails are, however, found almost solely in hot, humid areas - i.e. FLORIDA, the country's magnet for invasive species. French restaurants ought to be rejoicing. Everyone else...not so much.

Creature Feature: Dumbo Octopus.

The deepsea abyss is full of things that you thought only existed in nightmares. There are things with diminished eyes, huge jaws, tentacles, and other traits that make one wonder if R'lyeh was really Atlantis at some point. Maybe H.P. Lovecraft was right about evil gods living at the bottom of the ocean.



For example, this is baby Cthulhu. Or, if you prefer, the Dumbo octopus (genus Grimpoteuthis). Dumbo octopuses live in the abyssal depths of 3-4,000 meters, feeding on worms, bivalves, copepods, and, presumably, human souls. The largest of the Dumbo octopuses are 1.8 meters in length (almost 6 feet) but most of these cephalopods are smaller.

The Dumbo octopus gets its name from the cute earlike flaps on its head. They make it look somewhat like Disney's classic flying elephant as it swims through the water. It also has another method of crawling along the bottom in which it flattens itself into a pancake, which is just as adorable. This other style gives it the name "flapjack octopus."

As creatures of the abyss, they do not need the sophisticated camouflage seen in other octopus species. Instead, they employ light tricks similar to those of the vampire squid. They can do anything from making their skin glow to making it completely clear. When you live in a place with so little light, color does not matter nearly as much. They also have no suckers, simply because they do not need them.

Alas, Dumbo octopuses are rare. Some researchers have even called them the rarest of all cephalopods. As abyssal sea creatures and octopuses, they also fare poorly in captivity. They would probably make adorable pets if only we could keep them! Good thing this mini-Cthulhu is one of the least terrifying creatures this week.

Creature Feature: Geoducks.

We try not to turn this blog into a parade of dick jokes. That's what most of the internet is for. However, there are some times when we just can't help it. Nature sometimes THROWS dick and/or vulva at our collective face. Geez, nature, no wonder the Chinese consider geoducks an aphrodisiac:

 

 Those giant marine clams above are called geoducks (Panopea generosa). They are not ducks, and it's pronounced "gooeyduck." The name apparently comes from some corrupted Nisqually word meaning "dig deep," as they are rather large burrowing clams. Other fun names include "mud duck," "king clam," or "elephant trunk clam."

Geoducks are native to the coasts of Washington and British Columbia. They are the largest burrowing clam in the world (7.9 in/20 cm at largest), and can live over a hundred years (with the record being 168 years). Nobody really seems to care how large the shell is or how long they live; everybody wants to see the siphons, which...yeeaaah...



For those of you unaware of mollusc biology, bivalves like geoducks use their siphons for eating, breathing, excreting, and, yes, mating. Burrowing clams tend to have the longest siphons of any molluscs. The siphons of a geoduck can be up to a meter in length - a record among bivalves. Such a long extension also makes human males get inferiority complexes.

Geoducks happen to have some of the tastiest cock around. The siphon is valued by both Eastern and Western cultures for its meat, although some consider it an aphrodisiac anyways. (For once, China, we see eye to eye.) They sell in China for up to 168 USD per pound. A whole 80-million dollar industry has boomed over clam cock. Human porn, you have met your match in a single clam.

Creature Feature: Mimic Octopus.

Nature is full of awesome mimicry. We've already covered the pseudo-poisonous coloration of the king snake family. Viceroy butterflies are a good example of a non-toxic creature mimicking one with a bad taste. Mimicking a toxic/bad tasting species while being harmless yourself is called Batesian mimicry and is found throughout nature.



This octopus does that and then some.

Discovered in 1998, the mimic octopus (Thaumoctopus mimicus) lives exclusively in the prey-rich areas of Indonesia and Sulawesi. It is considered the single most intelligent invertebrate in existence. Is it a manifestation of Cthulhu's almighty tentacles? Maybe.


In his city at R'lyeh, dread Cthulhu waits dreaming. Do not disturb.

All octopuses are carnivores, but they have predators, too. They are the masters of camouflage. Octopuses do not just change the colors of their skin, they change the texture as well. Push comes to shove, a lot of them have ink and can regenerate tentacles if one gets torn off. Octopuses have plenty of tricks up their sleeves simply by virtue of being Cthulhu's minions octopuses.

The mimic octopus makes other octopuses look like amateurs. It has excellent camouflage powers, copying other species of sea life in every way except genetics.

AWESOME chart from webecoist.com; feel free to open it in another window for a better look.

A number of factors affect what form the mimic octopus chooses to take. Depending on where it is located in the water, it can copy the shape and movements of a flounder (which is not like the friendly fish from The Little Mermaid at all) or the venomous lionfish with its flashy fins spread wide. Granted, the lionfish is not its most impressive imitation; for something without a spinal cord, it still does a damn good job.



If attacked, the mimic octopus may even imitate the aggressor's natural predator.  For example, a lot of things fear black and white sea snakes. They have good reason to; sea kraits are the third most venomous snake in the world and have menacing bands to look the part.  In a flash, the octopus can look like one of the most venomous creatures in the world. This is not just a color change; as you can see in the video, it makes its tentacles mimic the behavior of a snake as well.

These examples are just the tip of the iceberg; the mimic octopus has been known to copy up to 15 different species with surprising accuracy. Somewhere, viceroys are jealous. No wonder it wasn't acknowledged by science until recently - it does a fine job of keeping its true identity under wraps.

Tomorrow: Speaking of, flounders are pretty weird fish in and of themselves!

Creature Feature: Turban Snails.

This blog has been updating at a snail's pace lately. May as well do a snail.



If you are familiar at all with Japanese monsters, you have no doubt seen odd, spiky snail shells adorning a pink, hermitcrab-like monster. You may have also seen the monster "Cornutus" in the Korean MMORPG Ragnarok Online. Ever wonder where they came from? Well, wonder no more:



That snail is one of the many snails of the family Turbinidae, or "turban snails." The common name comes from their shells' resemblance to a turban; the scientific name has the same roots as the word 'turbine' - a  reference to a top used by ancient Roman children. There is another family called "top snails" that is similar to turban snails in several aspects.

Unlike most snail shells, the shells of turban snails spiral upwards. They are sometimes ringed with long spikes for protection. Turbo cornutus in particular has spikes curling all along the spiral of its shell.



Although the shell is the most visible feature to us humans, what really sets turban snails apart are their calcified opercula. The operculum is the 'door' that snails use to hide entirely inside their shells; in turban snails, it is a lot harder to break open. These have been used throughout history as incense and jewelery. Hell, some opercula from larger turban snail specimens have been used as paperweights.


This is Turbo marmoratus, one of the largest turban snails. It is native to the waters around Madagascar. Its shell is also a source of mother-of-pearl. 




Japan in particular has a rather interesting take on the turban snail. The turban snail is one of many animals that, after living for a certain amount of time, becomes a supernatural entity (a youkai). The result of a turban snail living for 30 or more years is called a "sazae-oni"- literally, "shellfish demon."



One of the most famous stories involving this youkai tells of an encounter with a group of pirates. After rescuing a beautiful woman from the sea, the pirates debated over who should have his way with her. She made it easy; she was all too willing to have sex with all of them. The next morning, the scallywags found that she had cut their nuts off, and tossed her back into the ocean. There she took the form of a giant turban snail; the pirates bargained with the snail for their balls back. The turban snail left with a hoard of pirate gold. (Testicles are sometimes called "golden balls" in Japanese (much like "jewels" elsewhere), so the pun is that gold was bought with gold.) Sounds like a good business formula to me.


Slowbro agrees.

Creature Feature: Spanish Dancer.

Did you know that you can get cold sores from stress? Well, you can, and I have two now. Enjoy this lava lamp in sea slug form while I collapse; I will be commuting a LOT in these next couple of weeks.



Soooo yeah, that's a Spanish Dancer (Hexabranchus sanguinus - what an awesome name!) is a carnivorous sea slug native to the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific Ocean. It is one of the largest nudibranchs around at over 40 cms long. Take out a ruler with centimeters and inches if you have to.

Besides floating around like it does above, it can move like a normal slug...but that swimming is so damn cool that nobody really cares. It was named, of course, due to its unique locomotion resembling a flamenco dancer's big, flowing skirt.

Night.

Creature Feature: Giant Clam.

Bivalves are cool. They make pearls. They look good and they taste good (well, to some people). Their shells are darn awesome, but not quite as awesome as some snails. Never has a bivalve seen the light of this blog...until now.



Meet the giant clam (Tridacna gigas). Its name says it all: This clam is the largest extant bivalve known to man. It is native to the South Pacific (they have more awesome fauna where this came from), and, owing to its great size, often carries a lot of stories with it. It is one of the most endangered clam species.


That's not an eye, it's a siphon. Really.

A little primer on bivalves: All bivalves, clams included, start their lives as little larvae called glochidia. These are mobile little critters that look an awful lot like Pac-Man would if he ever made a heavy metal album:


Those teeth are for latching onto fish, not eating your soul.

The giant clam goes from being a motile little Pac-Man larva to a sessile, gigantic clam. How big are we talking? The shell of the largest giant clam was 115 cm long, and it is estimated that the live weight was around 734 pounds (340 kg).


It's a clam and it's giant!

Along with being the world's largest clam, the giant clam produces the world's largest pearls. The largest pearl on record, the Pearl of Lao Tzu, was given to Wilburn Cobb by a Philippine chief in 1939. This pearl is 24 cm's in diameter and weighs 6.4 kg (9.45 pounds). Later, Cobb told a story about how the pearl was cultivated in successively larger clams until it reached this massive size. Since its discovery, it has been dubbed "the Pearl of Lao Tze" and "the Pearl of Allah." It currently resides in the private collection of Victor M. Barbish, so should you ever desire a giant calcified bird dropping, you know who to go after.


You would have to be an eccentric billionaire to want it to begin with, really.

The giant clam gets its food from the algae growing in its shell. Every so often, it opens its shell to let the algae photosynthesize. These algae are what allow it to get so big; hey, if Popeye could not convince you that veggies were a good thing, perhaps a giant clam can.

Creature Feature: Sea Lizard/Blue Dragon.

Oh, crap. Not ANOTHER thing we have to fear from the ocean!

Actually, this one's relatively harmless. The sea lizard (Glaucus atlanticus) will not eat you unless you are a cnidarian or fellow slug. This creature is not to be a confused with lizard fish; the sea lizard in question here is a small, blue sea slug native to most of the world's oceans.

Sea slugs have been blessed with such a variety of shapes and colors that even perfectly sane people wonder what they're tripping on. For starters, all gastropods are hermaphrodites - they have male and female junk. If that was not trippy enough, name a color; sea slugs come in it. Name a type of locomotion; sea slugs can do it (or at least look like they're doing it). Name a land animal; it probably has a counterpart in sea slugs. All things said, they are AWESOME creatures that I am ashamed for not doing an entry or five on earlier. (I do not know HOW, but Pokemon managed to de-awesome them.)


DUDE I CAN TOUCH THE RAINBOW! IT SMELLS AWESOME!

These particular sea slugs have gills that look like feathery feet or fins alongside their bodies. They swim upside-down; the name 'gastropoda' means 'stomach-foot,' and this thing is walking on its back like something out of a horror movie 24/7.



Now, hold on a second...aren't colorful things usually poisonous? In this case, yes and no; many sea slugs, these guys included, gain toxic attributes from their food. G. atlanticus in particular feeds upon the stinging tentacles of the Portuguese Man o' War (Physalia physalis)- a cnidarian colony (not a jellyfish) known to be deadly to humans. The Glaucus is completely immune to its venom. Like in some caterpillars, the poison in the tentacles gets used for the sea slug's own defense.

Look, but think before you touch. Enjoy the acid.

(By the way, fun fact: The generic name for 'Glaucus' comes from the myth of Glaucus and Scylla. Look it up if you like; Circe's involved!)