Stoplight Parrotfish

Photo courtesy of Adona9 at en.wikipedia

Photo courtesy of Adona9 at en.wikipedia

Hello Explorers!
It's time for the Creature of the Week! We are going to kick off the month of May with the Stoplight Parrotfish! Parrotfish are so named due to their beak-like mouths, which are made of teeth tightly packed together. These teeth continually grow throughout a fish's lifetime. They use their beaks to scrape algae off of coral, as well as to eat the coral polyps. Some female stoplight parrotfish have the ability to become males when there is a lack of breeding males in a population.  This reproductive strategy of being born one sex and being able to switch to another later in life is called sequential hermaphroditism and can be found in other fish, frogs, and invertebrates. Read more about this fascinating fish below!
http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/fish/gallery/descript/sparrotfish/sparrotfish.html

Spotted Ratfish

Photo By: Linda Snook/ MBNMS

Hello everyone! It's time for the Creature of the Week. This week our creature is the spotted ratfish. The ratfish is actually a relative of sharks, and like sharks are cartilagenous, meaning they don't have true boney skeleton.  Instead their skeleton is made up of the same substance that gives structure to your nose and ears! If you see one of these fish, you need to take care because they have a venemous spine on their dorsal fins! This Pacific dwelling critter can be found in depths up to 3,000 feet.  Ratfish belong to the Order of Chimaeriformes, which may include some of the oldest cartilagenous fish still alive today. 
Read more about this interesting creature below:

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

California Sea Hare

Photo Courtesy of Columbia University, New York

Hello Explorers!
Rabbits and hares are among the animals that are best associated with spring (ha ha, a pun!). Our creature of the week is called the California Sea Hare. This animal, however, is no rabbit. In fact, sea hares or sea sl...ugs are among the largest species within the gastropod class (a class which includes snails and slugs). Sea hares, like rabbits, are herbivorous, and many species have the ability to ink when bothered. California sea hares, in particular, are being used in studies of learning and memory neurobiology. Read about all these facts and more about this fascinating animal at the link below!

 

http://eol.org/pages/451984/overview

 

Sabre-Toothed Blenny

Did anyone fall for any April Fools Day tricks? Our creature of the week is a true trickster. It's called the Sabre-toothed blenny, and it relies on the art of mimicry to get its food. Sabre-toothed blennies mimic the coloration and beha...viors of the blue-streaked cleaner wrasse. However, while the cleaner wrasse actually is beneficial to other fish, cleaning them of parasites and dead material, the sabre-toothed blenny is detrimental to other fish. Just watch the video below! And for more information on sabre-toothed blennies, visit:
http://www.wild-facts.com/tag/sabre-toothed-blenny/