Japanese Spider Crab

Crabs are decapods crustaceans, that are covered with thick exoskeleton and a pair of claws.  Various crab species are found in various waters bodies across the world, from freshwater to the saltwater bodies.

My fourth choice is not just any crab, but considered a giant, amongst crabs – the Japanese Spider Crab.  The Japanese spider crab, is also known as Macrocheira kaempheri, belonging to the family of arthropods.  It is mostly found off the southern coasts of the Japanese islands of Hoshu, from Tokyo bay to Kagoshima Perfecture.  They can also be found off the coasts of Taiwan.  They get their name from their likeness to a spider, and its habitat location.

The Japanese Spider Crab, the largest living crab in the world, in terms of its limb reaching 12ft 6in (3.8metres) from claw to claw.  When fully grown, the body may grow to a size of 35cm to 40cm.  The whole crab can weigh up to 42 pounds (20kg). It may live up to 100 years. 

 It is during the spring time that Japanese Spider Crabs lay their eggs, typically at depths of around 50metres.  Sperm of male crabs are held in a case (sac, or spermatophore).  Spermatophores are transferred to the female by the first and second abdominal appendages during mating.  After fertilization, the female crab carries the eggs attached to the abdominal appendages.  A cement is secreted by the egg-carrying setae to bind them to the abdominal appendages.  When the eggs hatch, the young crabs look nothing like their parents.  During the larval stage, or zoea, the baby crabs are small, transparent organisms with round, legless bodies.  They usually swim at the surface of the ocean.  During their growth stage, they tend to shed their skin several times which is an amazing sight to see.  When the body and legs begin to form and appear more crab-like, the young crab is in the megalops stage.  During this stage, though, the abdomen is large and not folded up.  The crab continues to molt its’ skin until it takes on a form that is very similar to the adult.

 The Japanese spider crab is primarily an omnivorous species that can be found scavenging for food along the ocean floor at a very slow pace.  It feeds on shellfish and animal carcasses on the bottom of the sea.  They consume plants, small fish, algae, as well as mollusks.  Their large and strong pincers allow them to catch prey easily and tear it apart before consumption. 

The males have the longest chelipeds, females have much shorter chelipeds, which are shorter than the following pair of legs.  It has eight legs with 2 feeding arms, which are also used to grab and subdue their prey.  The male specimen is slightly different from the female specimen, the arms of the male where the pincers of the crab are located, become longer then the legs they use to walk on.

 You might think because of its size that this crab would be a monster in its defensive mechanism, but no!  Some crabs attach sponges and other sea creatures to their shells as camouflage and defensive mechanism just like any other crab to protect them against other predators.  The Japanese spider crab seems big, but in reality, it is a very defenseless creature of the ocean.    

As a majestic creature of the wild and predators such as the Octopuses, the main predator is not even from the ocean floor.  You see, the meat of the crab is a delicacy and is highly prized, not just in Japan but around the world.  They are fished in large numbers on an annual basis and usually to catch them requires large trawling nets, which makes the human species the main predator for the Japanese Spider Crab.

Vampire Squidward (Vampire Squid)

I have decided to go deep in the Pelagic Zone, into the deep dark abyss, where a new order of the Cephalopod specie from “hell” exists. Rarely seen, with luminous body parts and eyes that will mesmerized any intruder, as it quickly turns inside out, cloaking itself and disappearing into the dark.

My third and mysterious of creature is so named in latin “Vampyroteuthis infernalis – meaning “Vampire squid from hell”. The Vampire squid is in the seventh order in the class Cephalopod, the “Vampyromorphida” and the only surviving member. It shares similarities to both squid and Octopus.

Now you might think that with a name like “Vampire squid from hell”, or features like blue haze or bloody red eyes, which proportionally is the largest in the animal kingdom. Gelatinous body varying in color, velvety jet black and sometimes pale reddish brown, or the unusual webbing cloak skin between the 8 arms, inside is black, each lined with rows of fleshy spines know as cirri and suckers distal half of the arms. Or maybe it’s the pair of retractable sensory filaments similar to the two long tentacles found on other squid species, which extends past its body, or even the powerful beak-like jaws, white as ivory, that it would be a monster of a creature, but no! Vampire squid from hell reaches about a foot long – 30cm long! And yes females are larger than males.

Vampire squid reproduce by the male depositing capsule of sperm into the sac of the female. It is not known how long it takes before the female fertilizes the eggs, before discharging it directly into the water. Eggs of the squid are small and opaque, reaching a size of about eight millimeters, and are found free floating in small masses in the deep. When the eggs hatch, there is three morphologic forms; at the earliest and intermediate phases of development, there is a pair of ear-like fins located near the eyes; as the animal develops, this pair gradually disappears as the other pair develops. When it reaches maturity, the original pair is reabsorbed. The new fins change the Vampire squid’s swimming style from jet propulsion to fin propulsion - flapping of the fins.

Knowing the Vampire squid size now, the next logical question would be. So how does it survive from predators and what does it feed on? To understand its defense mechanism, and food source, first we need to know its environment, its habitat. Specimens have been collected from tropical and subtropical waters all over the world. It lives in depths of 1800-3000 feet or more? It is the only cephalopod that lives its entire life cycle in the core of the Oxygen Minimum Layer (OML). This of course means that Vampire squid’s metabolic must be very low to survive in such conditions. Vampire squid are carnivorous, which means, meat for dinner! Copepods, prawns, and cnidarians are known food of the Vampire squid, and at that depth, a Vampire squid can’t be too picky.

And as for its predators, Vampire squid have been found among the stomach contents of large deep water fish and deep diving whales. I guess that explains its enemies. But the most interesting is the way the Vampire squid defends itself. It is quite enlightening actually. The Vampire squid is almost entirely covered in light-producing organs called “photophores”. When threatened, the Vampire squid moves its fins toward the funnel and emits a jet of water from the mantle. The arms and web turns itself inside out and over the head and mantle, protecting it. As for the arms, the Vampire squid is able to regenerate it if an arm is bitten off. Light producing organs on the tip of each arm and at the base of each fin begin to glow and pulse and the arms begin to writhe. If a predator touches the Vampire squid, it ejects a mucus containing thousands of “glowing spheres of blue bioluminescent light”. When the lights’ begin to disappear, the Vampire squid from hell also disappears into the deep dark abyss.

Clown Fish

Ive decided to do my second blog on the most influential fish in history , the clown fish .

Clownfish , also known too many as "Nemo Fish " are fish from Amphiprioninae family . There are over twenty five different species of clown fish found and documented in the world . Clown fish , depending on species , can be yellow , orange , red and sometimes even black . Though many show white strips or patches . These fish can reach a length of 7 inches . Though most of them barely reach 4 inches.

Clownfish are custom to the warmer waters of the Pacific and Indian Ocean , including the Red Sea and the Great Barrier Reef , found off the Coast of Australia.
Clownfish live at the bottom of the sea in sea anemones and are found in sheltered reefs and sometimes in shallow lagoons.

Clownfish are omnivorous. They eat food such as algae, plankton, mollusks, and crustacea. Clownfish also eat mysids , copepods and zooplankton along with other small invertebrates

The Clownfish share a special relationship with its home , the sea anemone . The sea anemone protects the Clownfish from predators and also supplies the clownfish with food . The clownfishs activity around the sea anemone then retunrns the favour by increasing water circulation and also helps by eatting little debris around the anemone.

Angler-Fish

I have decided to do my first blog on the Angler-Fish .
The Angler-Fish is part of the Lophiiformes family . These type of fish are carnivores and are usually found in deep water like in the Marianas Trench . The Angler-Fish are usually a dark brown and gray color . These fish can grow up to 3.3 feet while most of them are smaller than a foot . These fish thrive in the dark and lonely depths of the sea .

The Angler-Fish has one of the coolest ways of hunting . Female Angler-Fish have a piece of its spine coming out its mouth . This piece of spine has a glowing tip at the end . The Female Angler-Fish uses this glowing tip to attract prey in deep dark waters like the Marianas Trench . Once the prey gets close to the glowing tip the Female Angler-Fish swallows it up . It doesnt really matter about the size of the fish . The Female Angler-Fish is able to swallow fish twice its size.

With all these cool things the Female Angler-Fish have , you must wonder if the male has the same . Unfortunately they dont . The Male Angler-Fish is one of the most pathetic fish I have ever heard of .

The male Angler-Fish doesnt come with that cool glowing tip like the female Angler-Fish . The male Angler-Fish it a lot smaller and is considered as a “parasitic mate”

The male Angler-Fish is considered a parasitic mate because its goal from birth is to try and find a female Angler-Fish to attach its self to . The male Angler-Fish is born with some awesome superhero scent . This superhero like scent helps the male Angler-Fish find his female mate in which he can fuse with .
The reason why this pathetic male fish needs to find a mate as soon as possible , is because as the male Angler-Fish starts to get older its digestive system starts to degenerate extremely quickly which makes it hard for this male fish to feed on its own. So with its useless attributes it has to find a female to live off before he starves to death .

Once the male Angler-Fish finds a female mate . He fuses with her . The male Angler-Fish fuses with the female Angler-Fish by biting her . Once he bites her , the male Angler-Fish releases a enzyme that breaks down the body of the female Angler-Fish along with with the male angler-fishes mouth. After a period of time this breakdown ends up fusing the male and female Angler-Fish together . Once the male is fused with the female , the male ends up degenerating at even a faster rate . The male starts to lose his digestive organs , heart and eyes . The Angler-Fish starts to lose everything besides his dignity ….his balls (testicles )

Now with a pair of balls , the female Angler-Fish is able to reproduce as much as she wants . Once the female Angler-Fish releases her eggs , the testicles magically release sperm in which fertilize the eggs.
Over the female Angler-Fish lifespan , she can have close to six male Angler-Fish attached to her .