Are There Any Bristleworms With Venomous Bristles?

Fireworms, generally called Bristleworms by aquarists, can cause painful stings. After a fresh look, there is finally evidence that the fire worms have a venom in their bristles.

15 Dec 2:30 PM 4 Read More...

Out Damned Spot…

In taxonomy, however, spots, simple and otherwise can assume an importance that can range from trivial to exceptional. This is simply because spots that are in a consistent position can be, and often have been, used as taxonomic characters.

23 Nov 4:25 PM 1 Read More...

A zoologist ponders: "The Silent Screams Of A Distressed Damsel..."

I initially thought: “Wow!! Isn’t that an interesting hypothesis?”

13 Nov 12:10 PM 1 Read More...

Oddities 03 - Pycnogonids, Underwater Tuffet Sitters?

My students might be forgiven for thinking pycnogonids are comprised only of legs and the hinges fastening those legs together.

12 Nov 12:58 PM 1 Read More...

Oddities - 2 – Bivalved Snails

As it turned out there was a very good reason that no clams with shells matching the description of Julia were ever collected. That singular reason is that Julia exquisita and all of its relatives having a similar shell are not clams, they are snails!

13 Aug 11:27 AM 0 Read More...