Aquatic World

Siphonophore is an order of Hydrozoans, a class of marine organisms belonging to the phylum Cnidaria. According to the World Register of Marine Species, the order contains 175 species.

The sea toads and coffinfishes are a family of deep-sea anglerfishes known as the Chaunacidae. These are bottom-dwelling fishes found on the continental slopes of the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific Oceans, at depths to at least 2,460 m (8,070 ft).

Chondrocladia lyra, also known as the lyre sponge or harp sponge, is a species of carnivorous deep-sea sponge first discovered off the Californian coast living at depths of 10,800–11,500 feet (3,300–3,500 m) by Welton L. Lee, Henry M Reiswig, William C. Austin, and Lonny Lundsten from the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI).

The colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) is part of the family Cranchiidae. It is sometimes called the Antarctic squid or giant cranch squid and is believed to be the largest squid species in terms of mass. It is the only recognized member of the genus Mesonychoteuthis and is known from only a small number of specimens.

Female crabs carry the fertilized eggs attached to their abdominal appendages until they hatch into tiny planktonic larvae. They can lay up to 1.5 million eggs per season, and these eggs will hatch in 10 days on average. Once hatched, these larvae undergo four stages of development before they mature into adulthood.

Giant isopods are one of the largest crustaceans and the largest known member of the isopod family, a group of crustaceans that are closely related to shrimp and crabs

The Pelican Flounder grows to about 38 cm in length. Most people are familiar with the flatfishes (flounders, soles etc). These fishes are very compressed, bottom-dwellers that have both eyes on the same side of the head. The larvae are also compressed, but unlike the adults, they are pelagic and have eyes on either side of the head.

Northwest European Lophius species are listed by the ICES as "outside safe biological limits". Additionally, anglerfish are known to occasionally rise to the surface during El Niño, leaving large groups of dead anglerfish floating on the surface.

Finned deep-sea octopuses, of the genus Grimpoteuthis (Robson 1932), consist of about 17 known species and are poorly known. All octopuses in the genus Grimpoteuthis are nicknamed “dumbo octopuses,” due to the ear-like fins that protrude from the sides of their mantles just above their eyes which resemble the elephant ears of the Disney character Dumbo

Christmas tree worms, Spirobranchus giganteus, are Christmas tree-shaped serpulid tube-dwelling worms with magnificent twin spirals of plumes used for feeding and respiration. These cone-shaped worms are one of the most widely recognized sedentary polychaete worms.

Goose barnacles (order Pedunculata ), also called stalked barnacles or gooseneck barnacles, are filter-feeding crustaceans that live attached to hard surfaces of rocks and flotsam in the ocean intertidal zone . Some species of goose barnacles such as Lepas anatifera are pelagic and are most frequently found on tidewrack on oceanic coasts.

The Exocoetidae are a family of marine fish in the order Beloniformes class Actinopterygii, known colloquially as flying fish or flying cod. About 64 species are grouped in seven to nine genera. While they cannot fly in the same way a bird does, flying fish can make powerful, self-propelled leaps out of the water where their long wing-like fins enable glidingfor considerable distances

The Ribbon Eel, Rhinomuraena quaesita, was first described by Garman in 1888. At one time, the male color form, which is blue with a yellow dorsal fin, was thought to be a different species.

Deep Sea Jellyfish. The deep sea holds many secrets, there are creatures down in the depths that we have never seen or even imagined.

One of the largest starfish in the world, the Crown of Thorns Starfish preys upon coral polyps and decimates coral reefs in plague proportions.

Berghia coerulescens is a species of sea slug, a marine nudibranch in the family Aeolidiidae. It is the type species of the genus Berghia.

The red lionfish (Pterois volitans) is a venomous coral reef fish in the family Scorpaenidae, order Scorpaeniformes. It is mainly native to the Indo-Pacific region, but has become an invasive species in the Caribbean Sea, as well as along the East Coast of the United States and East Mediterranean and also found in Brazil at Fernando de Noronha.

Phyllidia babai is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusk in the family Phyllidiidae. The specific name babai is in honor of the Japanese malacologist Kikutaro Baba.

The species of starfish Astropecten articulatus, commonly known as the Royal Starfish is characterized by its bold colors. It has a purple granulated disk, which is the central region of the sea star, and the purple color continues to extend to its five flat rays, which are its arms. The margin of the sea star, which is its outline, is an orange color.