#cuttlefishkate

[cuttlefishkate]

Linckia Laevigata is a blue sea star found in Indo-pacific waters! This bad boy was found off the coast of Exmouth, in Western Australia and has been known to exhibit vibrant blue and purple colors and reach sizes of 1 foot diameters! And let's be real yall, size matters.

[cuttlefishkate]

OCTOPUS NATION!!! Octopuses are apart of Phylum Mollusca and in the class Cephalopoda. Cephalopoda roughly translates to "head foot" in Latin which may not make sense until you learn that each tentacle has its VERY OWN BRAIN. Okay, not really, BUT the large majority of neurons in octopuses can be found in their tentacles. These badass babes also have BEAKS! Similar to that of a bird but like an underwater bird. That does what it wants when it wants. And no one questions it. Because it's not a bird, ITS A DAMN OCTOPUS.

[cuttlefishkate]

Artificial reefs provide hard substrates in environments that otherwise could not allow corals to thrive and thus create communities where fish and various invertebrates are able to take refuge. This sunken plane was park of a wreck park that the Australian government funded to help in the recovery of diminished coral reefs. Perth, Australia

[cuttlefishkate]

Nudibranchs are in the phylum mollusca and a lot of them are keystone species, meaning they can be introduced into ecosystems where a species is dominating and limit the effects while promoting biodiversity. This Clown Nudibranch however, has a warning device that makes small fishes peace the hell out. Clowns people... Clowns...

[cuttlefishkate]

what can I say? Echinoderms are SUPER FREAKING COOL! All of them have penta-radial symmetry and in general, they are the lionesses of the invertebrates. For example, sea urchins are so badass they can DRILL THROUGH ROCK. At the same time they're super cute-- if you stick your finger in the midst of their spines they'll give you a hug 😊(it's really not a hug they're either trying to eat you or build up defenses but we'll pretend it's a hug).