Jim has been collecting invertebrates for us to freeze/look at/think about other biomechanics projects. Here is an assortment in the tank, including urchin (left), tunicate (large brown blob), nudibranch (large white blob), giant amphipod (white bug-looking thing on the nudibranch), soft coral (orange), another nudibranch (white, bottom), a pycnogonid (orange sea spider), and a couple anemones.
Here's a close-up of the soft coral and you can see a worm behind and above it... it's spiky and is a flabelligerid polychaete. I've seen worms in that family in Maine but they're MUCH smaller and are sort of brown and ugly.
There are no crabs in Antarctica, but there are giant isopods that fill the niche of crabs in most other habitats. We were all pretty excited to see this one. Isopods are usually maybe half an inch long or so but this one is at least 3-4 inches. How cool is that?
Hmmm, i have been reading the blog out-of-order, so perhaps I missed an important point, but again I ask: why are you freezing the poor animals?? ; )
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