365 replies to this topic

[gcbryan]

A Boa?

No.

[David Evans]

Bill, the "protandrous" bit (and most of my description, for that matter!) came from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clownfish

Being that wikipedia is what it is, I would stop well short of citing it as a definitive text for marine biology (nor definitive of anything else!)

So - being our resident marine biologist, I gladly defer to your expertise on such matters

Gray:

I'm guessing that your critter is some sort of pinniped... probably a sea lion, given that you mention it's more common in tropical waters but bigger in temperate regions.

[gcbryan]

Bill, the "protandrous" bit (and most of my description, for that matter!) came from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clownfish

Being that wikipedia is what it is, I would stop well short of citing it as a definitive text for marine biology (nor definitive of anything else!)

So - being our resident marine biologist, I gladly defer to your expertise on such matters

Gray:

I'm guessing that your critter is some sort of pinniped... probably a sea lion, given that you mention it's more common in tropical waters but bigger in temperate regions.

You're on the right track in that this creature is a mammal.

[David Evans]

hmmmmm....

ok, I'll revise my guess to Homo sapiens

[gcbryan]

hmmmmm....

ok, I'll revise my guess to Homo sapiens

We have a winner.

[Piz]

Hi David.

I am looking forward to your post of creature 48.

I would never have guessed homo sapiens!!!

[David Evans]

What!!??? You mean I was RIGHT??? ROFL.

Ok... will think about it and try to come up with something entertaining...

[David Evans]

Creature Feature 48

I am among the strangest animals in the oceans...

... I have blue blood, which scientists regularly drain from me in order to test new drugs for you humans!
... I have no jaws but I have a mouth, which is surrounded by my legs - which is the basis for the name of my class of animals!
... Spiders, ticks and scorpions are my closest relations
... I have no nose, but I can still smell my food
... I have 10 eyes, but 2 of them are used primarily for finding a mate... and those two eyes feature rods and cones that are very similar to human eyes, only they are 100 times larger! Scientists have learned much about how the human eye works by looking deeply into mine.
... Some of my eyes can see ultraviolet light, which I use to track the phases of the moon... important to me so that I know when to get my groove on!
... My mating is very important to the birds where I live.

Who am I?

[gcbryan]

Horseshoe Crab.

[David Evans]

gcbryan is correct!!

[drbill]

Good clues and good answer! A classmate of mine at Harvard used to collect horseshoe crabs for medical purposes, and later started captive breeding them if I remember correctly.

[gcbryan]

Creature Feature 49

During the daylight this creature often remains buried or partially buried in the sand/silt/etc. At night it often hovers a foot or so motionless up in the water column.

If this creature were to join the military it would be the navy.

When seen during the daytime it often appears (to me) to be dead and lifeliess with all color drained out of it's body.

[Piz]

This is a good one. any chance of a hint?

[gcbryan]

This is a good one. any chance of a hint?

It's a fish.

[Piz]

Hmmm OK leave it with me. At least now I know i am looking for some weird jelly fish or something. Thanks