rosie posie @moondropsoda - Tumblr Blog

Meet one of the ocean's biggest surprises. 🌊

Big red jellies can reach more than a meter (three feet) across. These jellies are covered in tiny, harpoon-like stinging cells that stun prey. Unlike most jellyfish, big red doesn't have long trailing tentacles. Instead, a cluster of finger-like oral arms beneath its bell helps it capture food.

Big red was first discovered off the central California coast in 1988, by MBARI staff. This jelly has been spotted across the Pacific Ocean, from Baja California to Hawaii to Japan.

The fact that an animal this large, with such a wide range, remained undiscovered for so long is a reminder of how little we've explored the deep sea—and how many incredible discoveries are still waiting to be found.

mbari-blog

Deep-sea jellies, siphonophores, and more: MBARI's Southern California expedition 🌊🪼💫

From graceful jellies and sleek siphonophores to dazzling comb jellies and dancing worms, MBARI researchers are revealing the hidden diversity of delicate drifters in the deep. Our Biodiversity and Biooptics Team, led by Senior Scientist Steven Haddock, recently concluded a 10-day expedition from Monterey Bay to the Channel Islands aboard MBARI’s flagship research vessel David Packard to study the biogeography and physiology of gelatinous plankton.

Using MBARI’s remotely operated vehicle (ROV) Doc Ricketts, they observed and collected gelatinous plankton deep underwater in the ocean’s midnight zone. A specialized low-light camera developed by MBARI scientists and engineers allowed the team to record the remarkable bioluminescence displays of these deep-sea jellies in their natural habitat. They logged observations of several undescribed ctenophores, a new species of Erenna siphonophore with elaborate lures, and a siphonophore they had previously only seen in the waters of the Gulf of California, advancing efforts to catalog life in the deep ocean.

Expeditions like this one advance efforts towards a complete census of marine life and are critical to understanding ocean ecosystems, how they are linked, and how they might be changing. Learn more on our website.

mbari-blog

Blending in like a pro 🐙😶‍🌫️

This red octopus (Octopus rubescens) blends seamlessly into the sandy seafloor, patiently waiting for its next meal to wander by. Like other octopuses, it can rapidly change both its color and skin texture to match its surroundings, making it remarkably difficult to spot.

Red octopuses feed on mollusks, fishes, small crabs, and other crustaceans. Researchers have found that they spend their early lives drifting in the water column before settling onto the seafloor as adults.

gremlininho

let me. innnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn

herpsandbirds

i posted some loggerhead shrike images in a server and they kept getting called CUTE !! the butcherbird enclave cannot stand for this... i request your FIERCEST loggerhead shrikes...

HAVE A LOOK AT THESE VICIOUS DIABOLOCAL BUTCHER BIRDS!!!

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), family Laniidae, order Passeriformes, FL, USA

photograph by Jeffery Gemmon

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), family Laniidae, order Passeriformes, Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, FL, USA

photograph by Jay Paredes

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus) feed the baby a TASTY MOLE CRICKET!!!, family Laniidae, order Passeriformes, FL, USA

photograph by Phil Rathner

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), family Laniidae, order Passeriformes, Arizona, USA

photograph by Aaron Marshall

Loggerhead Shrike (Lanius ludovicianus), EAT A TASY SNAKE!!!, family Laniidae, order Passeriformes, WA, USA

photograph by Christopher Clark

meangirlnurse

there’s a post on tumblr about like. if you could do something to bring people a little relief, why wouldn’t you do it? which has unironically informed my practice as a nursing student and patient care tech

meangirlnurse

i’m glad no one made any unpleasant comments on this post that might distract from the message because that would really suck

herpsandbirds

Hey, y'all, I'm leading a field trip to the Mid-Pleistocene, if any of you are interested.

We will be leaving 3 days ago at 33:33 AM from the 3rd node of the 3rd interstitial byway of the 3rd level of the astral plane, the one with all the sentient hello kitty dolls.

Bring snacks.

goldcrescent

My new pet peeve is people completely misunderstanding the term Male Gaze and making the term female gaze based entirely on that misunderstanding

goldcrescent

the white boy of the month pushing his hair back and reading poetry for the camera is not the equivalent of the dehumanization of women in visual media by way of presenting them primarily as vessels for sexual gratification

defectivegembrain

Hate when I'm stuck in an anxious obsessive thought loop like I am fully aware that I'm being absolutely insufferable right now but I cannot stop I am tired of me too