Sea cucumbers are harvested for use in food and medicine. Sea cucumbers have catch connective tissue, which seems to magically go from being stiff to flexible in mere seconds. This aspect of the sea cucumber is being studied for its potential application to the health and repair of human tendons and ligaments.
Strange and ferocious-looking, the goosefish has fascinated people for centuries. According to legend, its common name derives from the belief that it could swallow a goose whole. Fishermen were often disturbed by the animal when they brought them up in their nets and sometimes referred to them as "sea-devils." They are flattened anglerfishes that lie still on the muddy ocean bottom and ambush their prey. Like other anglerfishes, the head of the goosefish is enormous in comparison to the rest of the body. It has a wide mouth lined with numerous bands of long, curved teeth. Both the head and body are depressed, giving the fish a flattened profile which enables it to hide on the ocean bottom. The top of the body is dappled to further camouflage it.
Greenland sharks, of the family Somniosidae, are hunted for food in Iceland. In modern times, many Greenlandic sharks used for hákarl production are purchased from fishing ships where the sharks were trapped in the fishing nets. The shark carcass is traditionally fermented in a shallow pit, with stones placed on top of the shark, allowing poisonous internal fluids, like urea and trimethylamine oxide, to be pressed and drained out of the body. The meat is then cured for several months, rendering it safe for human consumption.
Stickleback have become a favourite system for studying the molecular genetics of evolutionary change in wild populations and a powerful "supermodel" for combining evolutionary studies at molecular, developmental, population genetic, and ecological levels. The nearly complete genome sequence of a reference freshwater stickleback was described in 2012, along with set of genetic variants commonly found in 21 marine and freshwater populations around the world. Some variants, and several chromosome inversions, consistently distinguish marine and freshwater populations, helping identify a genome-wide set of changes contributing to repeated adaptation of sticklebacks to marine and freshwater environments.
Shells left over after lobster processing are usually tossed into landfills. So in an effort to make them worth something and keep the money in the lobster industry, a University of Maine professor created golf balls with a core made out of lobster shells. They're also biodegradable, designed for golfing on cruise ships or courses near oceans and lakes. The problem is they only go about 70 percent of the distance of a regular golf ball, so you won't see them at the U.S. Open anytime soon.
Seagulls are very clever. They learn, remember and even pass on behaviours, such as stamping their feet in a group to imitate rainfall and trick earthworms to come to the surface, dropping hard-shelled molluscs onto rocks so that they break open so they can eat them, and following ploughs in fields where they know upturned grubs and other food sources will be plentiful.
American Oystercatchers are the only birds in their environment with the ability to open large molluscs such as clams and oysters (except for large gulls that drop clams onto pavement). Foraging oystercatchers often attract other birds eager to share (or steal from) the oystercatcher's "raw bar," including Willets, large gulls, and Ruddy Turnstones. American Oystercatchers don't always win out in their battles against oysters and clams. Occasionally, a shellfish gets its revenge by clamping down on an oystercatcher's bill and holding the bird tight. When the tide comes back in, it can spell bad news for the would-be predator.
Kavachi Volcano has also been dubbed "Sharkcano" because in 2015, when the volcano was in a lull period of activity, an expedition to the area found there were two kinds of sharks, including hammerhead sharks, living near the crater. This came after a 2008 study found the volcano was constantly spewing volcanic particles and fragments into the water, making the environment acidic and "superheated," with temperatures reaching 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37c)
Ostracods are by far the most complex organisms studied within the field of micropalaeontology. They are Metazoa and belong to the Phylum Arthropoda (as trilobites), Class Crustacea (as lobsters and crabs). An important distinguishing feature Ostracods share with other arthropods is the bilateral symmetry of their body form. The paired body parts are enclosed in a dorsally hinged carapace composed of low magnesium calcite, which is what is commonly preserved in the fossil record. They are found today in almost all aquatic environments including hot springs, caves, within the water table, semi-terrestrial environments, in both fresh and marine waters, within the water column as well as on (and in) the substrate. In fact almost anywhere that's wet, even if only for a brief period!
The largest species of ribbon worm is the bootlace worm, Lineus longissimus, which can be found writhing among rocks in the waters of the North Sea. Not only is it the largest nemertean, but it may also be the longest animal on the planet! Uncertainty remains because these stretchy worms are difficult to accurately measure, but they have been found at lengths of over 30 meters (98 feet) and are believed to even grow as long as 60 meters (197 feet)—longer than the blue whale! Despite their length they are less than an inch around.