Sea Life | Blogs
Thursday, January 12, 2012
Anthias: The Fish That Can Change Gender
We were at the Shedd Aquarium and came across a tank of beautifully colored fish called anthias and were intrigued by the caption that said "...these colorful fish have the ability to change sex". We were determined to learn more!
Anthias are rather small fish (1 1/2 to 5 inches long) that sport a wide range of colors including orange, pink, purple and green. They live in tropical oceans and seas around coral reefs. Anthias eat zooplankton, microscopic animals that float in the water. Anthias were named by Carl Linneaus back in 1758. Linneaus was an important person in the history of science as he was the Swedish botanist known...
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Not All Starfish Have 5 Arms
The Sun Starfish (Pycnopodia Helianthoides) can have up to 24 arms and be 30 inches in diameter – they’re huge! In fact, they are the largest starfish in the oceans. They are quite pretty and come in shades of pink, purple, red, yellow and brown. However, looks can be deceiving. The Sun Starfish is a fierce predator. It loves to eat sea urchin and it will also eat clams, sea cucumbers and its distant relatives – other starfish! It is very fast and can move three feet per minute. Like other starfish, they can regrow their arms if lost. For example, if a Sun Starfish gets caught by a king crab, it can shed its arms to escape...
