California Bay Pea Crab

Parapinnixa affinis

Pea crabs are tiny crabs, almost always less than half an inch (1 cm) wide. As adults they live associated with other marine animals such as bivalve mollusks (clams) and tubeworms. The California Bay pea crab inhabits the tubes and burrows of polychaete worms (marine annelid worms of the class Polychaeta that bear bristles and have paired appendages). Other species of pea crab, such as Pinnotheres pisum, are found in mussel and cockle shells in European coastal waters, while females of Pinnotheres ostreum, also known as [Read more]

Giant Gippsland Earthworm

Megascolides australis

One of the largest earthworms in the world, the giant gippsland earthworm was discovered in 1878. Its large size and secretive habits have made it vulnerable to changes in land use resulting from the development of agricultural land from natural forest. The giant Gippsland earthworm belongs to the Phylum Annelids, the segmented worms, which includes earthworms, rag worms, and leeches. Named after the area of Australia that is its home, it is found only in Gippsland, a fertile region of southeastern Victoria that extends along the coast from Melbourne to the New South Wales border. The giant Gippsland [Read more]

Honey Bee

Honey Bee

Honey bees probably originated in tropical Africa and spread from South Africa to northern Europe and the Usa, and eastwards into India and China. They are now found worldwide except at the poles. A honey bee hive is an extraordinary places. Tens of thousands of bees work together for the greater good of their colony-building and maintaining the hive, finding food, fending off predators, feeding and rising the young. There is a strict caste system in force inside the hive. A queen (a fertile female) lays eggs; a few hundred drones [Read more]

Blue-ringed Octopus

Blue ringed Octopus

Blue-ringed octopuses live in Indo-Pacific waters from southren Japan to Australia in depths of up to 30m (100 ft). They are usually found on reefs, in crevices and rock pools, and occasionally on sandy seabeds. A tiny, golf ball-sized killer lurks quietly in the tidal pools and coral reefs of the Pacfic and Indian Oceans. When threatened its vivid blue rings ‘glow’ on its body. this warning that animals or people ignore at their peril – the blue – ringed octopus is so venomous, its bite can kill a person in minutes. What’s more thereis [Read more]

Crown of thorn Sea Star

Crown of thorns Sea Star

The Crown of Thorn sea star is found on coral reefs in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It occurs in its greatest numbers on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia and around the islands of Indonesia. Many armed and covered in long, poisonous spines, the crown of thorns sea star has a forbidding appearance and reputation as one of the most destructive marine animals. These starfish feed voraciously on the living corals that make up tropical reefs. Congregating sometimes in tens of thousands, they move like a slowly advancing army over a reef, leaving behind a wasteland of destroyed coral that will take many years to recover. [Read more]

Man of War

Man of War

The man of war is most commonly found in the tropical and subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans and the Atlantic Gulf Stream, but is seen in warm seas worldwide, including the Mediterranean. Strong winds often drive it inshore. The man of war is feared for its powerful sting. Among the simplest of animal form, it has no brain and reacts mechanically to stimuli. Although the man of war looks like one animal, its actually a colony made up of many interrelated animals (polyps) which each perform different tasks. It has tentacles up to 60 m long and a float said to resemble the hat worn by medieval [Read more]

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