Thursday, February 05, 2009
Stuff
Colorful sea foam, a starfish trying to make a fast getaway, and the tube feet sticking out of a starfish.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Pictures of the Beautiful Portuguese Man of War
In case you were wondering...
Anyone unfamiliar with the biology of the venomous Portuguese man-of-war would likely mistake it for a jellyfish. Not only is it not a jellyfish, it's not even an "it," but a "they." The Portuguese man-of-war is a siphonophore, an animal made up of a colony of organisms working together.
The man-of-war comprises four separate polyps. It gets its name from the uppermost polyp, a gas-filled bladder, or pneumatophore, which sits above the water and somewhat resembles an old warship at full sail. Man-of-wars are also known as bluebottles for the purple-blue color of their pneumatophores.
The tentacles are the man-of-war's second organism. These long, thin tendrils can extend 165 feet (50 meters) in length below the surface, although 30 feet (10 meters) is more the average. They are covered in venom-filled nematocysts used to paralyze and kill fish and other small creatures. For humans, a man-of-war sting is excruciatingly painful, but rarely deadly. But beware—even dead man-of-wars washed up on shore can deliver a sting.
Wednesday, January 07, 2009
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Supercool:
A. To cool (a liquid) below its freezing point without solidifying it.
B. Living in Florida in December with the temperature a lovely 78 degrees.
B. Living in Florida in December with the temperature a lovely 78 degrees.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
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