Ocean Portal

Starfish, sea star, or asteroid? Asking what these star-shaped echinoderms should be called is a good way to get scientists fired up! They’re not fish, so should they be called “starfish?” They’re not really stars, and most people called them... — Starfish, sea star, or asteroid? Asking what these star-shaped echinoderms should be called is a good way to get scientists fired up! They’re not fish, so should they be called “starfish?” They’re not really stars, and most people called them starfish, so should they really be called “sea stars?” And asteroids are those rocks in space, silly!
Starfish and echinoderm expert Chris Mah of the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History weighs the arguments in his latest post on the Echinoblog. Which term will he choose?
Photo: Steve Mohundro

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Invertebrates close-up never fail to please: with their bright colors and strange structures, they begin to take on patterns that are more art than animal.

So is true of this series of close-up photographs of starfish taken by researcher and photographer Alexander Semenov. But it isn’t enough to call them art: why are all those finger-like appendages waving around? And what are those bulbous spikes (or floral bouquets, if you’re feeling romantic)?

Lucky for us, two floors up from the Ocean Portal office sits Dr. Chris Mah, an expert on echinoderms (a group of ocean animals that includes starfish, sea urchins and brittle stars) at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. He helped us to fill in some of the details.

Source: blogs.smithsonianmag.com starfish sea stars invertebrates science ocean animals animals photography macro photography

Bringing the Western Flyer, and History, Back to Life

A book recommendation from Nancy Knowlton, the Sant Chair for Marine Science at Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History, and a look at bringing history back to life via the restoration of an inspirational boat –

As a first-year graduate student in marine biology, I shared a large office with other students. I normally did a good job of not disturbing them, but I totally failed in this while reading John Steinbeck’s The Log from the Sea of Cortez. I am sure my laughter was heard by everyone in the office, and by passers-by in the hall as well.

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books john steinbeck book lovers ships ship restoration monterey science marine life marine biology marine biodiversity

PBS’s “Shape of Life” series placed a camera inside the shell of a living mussel in order to film a seastar devour it. Watch the seastar push its stomach inside the mussel to turn it into a slush and slurp it down.

Echinoderms: Sea Star Time-lapse: Eating Mussel (by Shape of Life)

Source: vimeo.com seastars seastar starfish star fish predation ocean mussels seafloor ocean animals

Anemone porcelain crabs may look delicate, but they have their own sort of armor: a hard exoskeleton. They live under rocks, sponges, groups of feather stars, and even in giant anemones where they can hide inside the tentacles.
Photo: Paul... — Anemone porcelain crabs may look delicate, but they have their own sort of armor: a hard exoskeleton. They live under rocks, sponges, groups of feather stars, and even in giant anemones where they can hide inside the tentacles.
Photo: Paul Flandinette
(via The Porcelain Crab | Smithsonian Ocean Portal)

Source: ocean.si.edu invertebrates animals marine science marine biology crustacea crustaceans crabs porcelain crabs nature ocean

Can I grab a ride? Tiny seahorses can’t propel themselves very quickly or get too far. By hopping on floating seaweed and debris, they are able to make it much further!
Learn more about seahorses in our slideshow:... — Can I grab a ride? Tiny seahorses can’t propel themselves very quickly or get too far. By hopping on floating seaweed and debris, they are able to make it much further!

Learn more about seahorses in our slideshow: http://ocean.si.edu/10-things-you-never-knew-about-seahorses
Photo: Patrick Decaluwe / Guylian Seahorses of the World 2010, Courtesy of Project Seahorse.

ocean portal smithsonian seahorse seahorses oceans marine biology animals science

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What is the biggest shark?

Sharks come in all sizes. The largest is the whale shark, which has been known to get as large as 18 meters (60 feet). The smallest fits in your hand. And the great white shark is somewhere in the middle. See photos and learn more about the wide diversity of sharks, read 5 reasons to revere sharks, and see even more articles about sharks.