Category: fish

True facts about life in the deep ocean

November 20, 2021 • 2:00 pm

ZeFrank appears to have invited himself on a virtual NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) “deep dive” from the Okeanos Explorer, a research ship that has a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) that can descend to 6,000 meters. A variety of videos reside on the NOAA website, and I suspect that ZeFrank took the video, with permission, from the site.

The goals of the Ocean Exploration mission are these:

With the mission to explore the ocean for national benefit, NOAA Ocean Exploration is the only U.S. federal organization dedicated to exploring the deep ocean. We are filling gaps in the basic understanding of U.S. deep waters and the seafloor and delivering the ocean information needed to strengthen the economy, health, and security of the United States.

We execute our mission by leading expeditions on NOAA Ship Okeanos Explorer and other research vessels; establishing public, private, and academic partnerships; providing funding and other support for ocean exploration expeditions and technology development, including via a competitive grants program; and guiding and supporting the Ocean Exploration Cooperative Institute.

The “conversation” you hear is the narration of the original videos combined with voiceover from ZeFrank, creating a “dialogue” between him and the Explorer personnel. Regardless, you’re here for the weird creatures that live in the depths of the ocean.

It’s rough down there, as you’ll see.

 

h/t: Ryan

Readers’ wildlife photos

November 2, 2021 • 8:00 am

Since I noted that this may become a sporadic feature because of a lack of submissions, I’ve gotten many of them. Thanks!

Today we have a new photographer prompted by my plea. Here are photos from Florida by reader Quentin Tuckett. His notes are indented, though I’ve left out the Latin binomials. Click on the photos to enlarge them. Be sure to check out the amazing snack-mimicking caterpillars at the bottom.

Some photos attached (and captions) from my travels in and around Tampa, FL. I am not a photographer, even an amateur one; thus, most of the photographs were taken with various phone cameras. Ultimately, I am sending these along because I enjoy the wildlife photographs and would love to see them continue,

Green tree frog in the morning light:

Some type of skink; perhaps the readers will know. Photographed near Tampa:

Gopher tortoise in Little Manatee State Park; the disturbed earth is due to rooting wild hogs:

Gopher tortoise in the backyard; this species (and its burrow) is protected under Florida law:

Turtle with shell damage, presumably due to a car strike:

Green swordtails captured in Hillsborough County; feral populations exhibit extensive color variation:

Juvenile bowfin; they are really cute when small. Students of comparative zoology will be familiar with this fish:

Blackchin tilapia, a non-native species in Florida. Captured in estuarine waters of Tampa Bay:

Tilapia (probably blue tilapia) bower, the light patches; the tilapia are the dark shapes; many tilapia are moothbrooders so it’s not a nest:

Parakeet, likely escaped from a pet owner; I suspect it didn’t last long due to its bright color and the presence of raptors:

Sandhill crane; these birds are lawn ornaments in my area of Florida:

Turkey in scrub habitat:

Yellow-crowned night heron in a red mangrove along the coast of Tampa Bay:

Three pictures of a snake mimic; we’ll see if the readers can identify it; Hillsborough County, FL:

Readers’ wildlife photos

October 1, 2021 • 8:00 am

I have a queue of photos, so if you haven’t seen yours yet, please be patient. And of course I can always use more.

Today’s photos are by Tony Eales from Queensland. His captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge his photos by clicking on them.

I’m headed to the outback next week so with luck I’ll have some cool things to share when I get back. For now I have a grab bag of reasonably recent shots of this and that.

I’ll start with a new mimic for me. This is one of several jewel beetles that mimic the presumably very unpalatable lycid beetles. This is the most widespread species being found in every mainland state of Australia, mainly across the southern half: Castiarina rufipennis.

And is the model, Porrostoma rhipidius. Very common in spring.

These are tiny Monomorium sp. known as Timid Ants. But they’re struggling mightily with this seed.

One of our common species of fish that lives in both brackish and fresh water. Pseudomugil signifer Pacific Blue Eye. They are a popular aquarium fish here and a member of the colourful family of Gondwanan and mostly Sahulian freshwater fish Melanotaeniidae, known commonly as Rainbowfish. Unfortunately, these blue-eyes are being driven out by the imported Gambusia mosquitofish. These Central American fish are livebearing and eat the scattered eggs of rainbowfish like Blue eyes as well as occupying the same niche.

As everyone should know by now, I love spiders. However, I’m also fascinated by the fungi that prey on them. This is probably Gibellula sp.

Finally, an orchid I’ve seen plenty of times in the rainforest near me but never caught flowering before. It is an epiphyte, Plectorrhiza tridentata, the Common Tangle Orchid.

Readers’ wildlife photos

June 27, 2021 • 8:00 am

I am still asking for readers to send their photos in, as at most I have a week’s contributions in reserve. Thank you!

Today is Sunday, and that means another batch of themed bird photos from biologist John Avise. I particularly like this week’s theme, which involves two groups of animals. (As you’ll see, John knows his fish as well as he knows his birds.)  His notes and IDs are indented, and you can click on his photos to enlarge them.

Piscivorous Birds with Their Fish

Many birds are piscivorous (fish-eating), so it’s common to see piscivores in action.  Occasionally, I’ve managed to photograph a bird and its piscine prey with sufficient detail to reveal the general type or even the species of fish recently captured (this is often helped by knowing the piscine species that inhabit the body of water where the bird was feeding).  In this batch of photos, I try to identify not only the piscivorous bird but also the type of fish it is about to consume.  The White Tern was photographed in Hawaii;  all other pictures were taken in southern California.

Elegant Tern (Sterna elegans) with topsmelt silverside (Atherinops affinis):

Black Skimmer (Rynchops niger) with topmelt silverside:

Forster’s Tern (Sterna forsteri) with topsmelt silverside:

Least Tern (Sterna antillarum) with topsmelt silverside:

Least Tern with unknown fish:

Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) with mullet (Mugil cephalus):

Osprey with unknown fish:

Another Osprey with mullet:

Osprey with partially eaten fish:

Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) with bullhead (Ameiurus sp.):

Pied-billed Grebe (Podilymbus podiceps) with bluegill sunfish (Lepomis macrochirus):

White Tern (Gygis alba) and chick with unknown eel-like fish:

Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) with unknown fish:

Anhinga (Anhiinga anhinga) with sculpin (Cottoidea):

Anhinga swallowing sculpin:

Readers’ wildlife photos

June 22, 2021 • 8:00 am

Thanks to several readers for sending in photos. I still can always use others, though, so keep this site in mind.

Today’s photos come from Andrew Furness, whose IDs and captions are indented. Click on his photos to enlarge them.

All these photos were taken in the last 6-months in South Florida. They showcase some of the wildlife of the region, including species introduced from elsewhere in the world and now firmly established. If readers are interested, I have a Flickr account where more of my photos can be seen.

A brown pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) stretches while waiting for an easy meal on a fishing pier.

A male green iguana (Iguana iguana) bobs his head as a warning.

A pike killifish (Belonesox belizanus) lurks just below the water surface. This species, native to Central America, was introduced into Miami-Dade County in 1957 and is now established in South Florida’s waterways. It is a livebearer in the family Poeciliidae, the same family that includes guppies, mosquitofish, mollies, and swordtails. Remarkably, this single species has evolved a pike body shape and specializes in eating other fish.

Closeup of the head of the pike killifish (Belonesox belizanus) revealing large jaws and needle-like teeth.

A common snapping turtle (Chelydra serpentina) with several leeches just above the head.

Brown water snake (Nerodia taxispilota). The snake was stuck in the plastic erosion-control netting. After taking a few photos I carefully cut the netting and freed the snake.

Muscovy duck (Cairina moschata) mother and her chicks. These ducks are a very common in the greater Miami area.

Black ctenosaur (Ctenosaura similis), a large lizard in the family Iguanidae introduced to Florida from Central America.

A male peacock (Pavo cristatus) spreads and waves his impressive plumage.

A male sailfin molly (Poecilia latipinna) showing an impressive sail-like dorsal fin.

Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox) making a foray onto land.

Close-up portrait of Florida softshell turtle (Apalone ferox).

American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) surfacing amongst the water lilies.

American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in a drying pool. The alligator, around 5 foot in length, appeared to be attempting to capture and eat schools of small poeciliid fishes swimming near the surface in the muddy oxygen-deprived water.

Southern water snakes (Nerodia fasciata) gathered at high density in the shallow waters to hunt fish.

Readers’ wildlife photos

June 1, 2021 • 8:00 am

Today we have some lovely osprey photos from Doug Hayes of Richmond, Virginia. His captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.

Still learning the ins and outs of the new camera. I wanted to try my hand at photographing birds in flight, so I went down to Mayo’s Bridge which connects Richmond’s downtown to the Southside. Most mornings you can see dozens of ospreys (Pandion haliaetus) fishing. In between dives, they roost in the nearby trees to eat, rest and dry out. The camera’s bird eye detection autofocus + tracking works as advertised! Once it locks on the subject (instantly), you can guarantee that your pictures will be in focus.
Scanning the river for fish. This osprey dropped down to about 30 feet or so – just within the closest focus range of the 200-600 zoom lens I was using. I actually think he was more interested in what I was doing than fishing at that moment. Keep in mind that I’m holding a nearly ten pound lens/camera combo vertically while tracking the bird which is directly overhead!
When prey is in sight, ospreys can hover for a better look, then dive, nailing their prey most of the time.
The operative word is “most” of the time. Sometimes they just get wet for their trouble. This osprey is rising from the river after an unsuccessful dive.
Circling around the river for another attempt.
Shaking off excess water.
This osprey managed to snag an American shad (Alosa sapidissima) nearly as big as it was. Believe it or not, the bird was able to fly across the river and into the trees to enjoy its feast!
Another pass over the river.
Catfish for breakfast!
This osprey managed to snag two fish with one talon!
Showing the human fisherman how it’s done.
Camera info:  Sony A1, FE 200-600 zoom lens + 1.4X teleconverter, crop sensor mode for an additional 1.5X reach (converting the 600mm maximum focal length to 1,260mm equivalent), bird eye detection autofocus with tracking, ISO 2000 – 5000, 1/2500 – 1/3200, f/9 – f/11, all shots hand held – camera body and lens image stabilization on, high speed electronic shutter (maximum burst rate 30 fps).

Readers’ wildlife photos

May 31, 2021 • 8:00 am

Thanks for the response to my importuning you for photos: I got several sets, one of which is below. But don’t neglect sending in your good photos, as I always have a need for more.

This set comes from reader David Campbell, whose captions are indented. Click on his photos to enlarge them.

A few photos for the hopper.  As usual, a diverse lot.

Great Egret (Ardea alba) photographed at St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge.  The bird is gliding within one half of one wingspan above the water, a condition known as ground effect.  This reduces the drag on the wing because the fixed surface (in this case the water) breaks up the wingtip vortices.  Less drag increases glide efficiency.  If the bird gets close enough to the surface of the water on a calm day, you can actually see the ripples where the vortices meet the water.  This egret did not oblige.

Spotted Sunfish (Lepomis punctatus).  Male coming into breeding color photographed in Silver Glen Springs in the Ocala National Forest.  Spotted Sunfish are among the most common of the Lepomis in the St Johns River drainage and the most approachable.  If a swimmer is  motionless and patient the fish will swim up within inches and hover.  Look closely and you can see the teeth in the lower jaw and a leech attached to the fin rays.

Wilson’s Snipe (Gallinago delicata) photographed at Payne’s Prairie Preserve south of Gainesville, Florida.

Horned Spanworm (Nematocampa sp.  Probably N. resista.). This larva dropped down from an oak canopy on a silk thread.  The dorsal threads can be extended until straight.

Eastern Garter Snake (Thamnophis sirtalis).  This is a quartet of photos showing how a nonvenomous snake can intimidate perceived threats by changing its appearance to look like a venomous snake.  When grabbed, garter snakes respond by biting and smearing musky feces on the attacker.  The experience is both unpleasant and memorable.  When threatened they try to flee.  When cornered, like many other snakes, they vibrate their tails, inflate the body to look larger and fatter, and flatten the head to make it wider and more triangular while elevating the front third of the body in an S shaped coil.  It is a pretty impressive mimic of a small viper.

This is a close up of the front part of the snake.

The first photo shows a normal eastern garter snake as it would look minding its own business.

The second shows a snake that is in almost full defensive posture with inflated body and flattened head.

The fourth photo shows a snake in full defensive threat posture with head elevated for a strike.

Florida Softshell Turtle (Apalone ferox).  The trash can lid with legs and an attitude.  This is one of the largest freshwater turtles in the United States, with large females having carapace lengths approaching 40 cm long.  They spend most of their time under water except when basking or seeking mates/laying eggs.  They have very long necks and extended nostrils, allowing them to sit on the bottom waiting for food but still reach up to the surface to breathe.  The neck is long enough that the turtle can bite a careless human grabbing the shell behind the middle of both sides.  Turtle rescuers grab (VERY carefully) the front edge and rear edge of the shell to transport softshells.

Eastern Coral Snake (Micrurus fulvius).  I found this little beauty crawling next to my house.  Coral snakes are elapids, related to cobras, with short fixed fangs and primarily neurotoxic venom.  We used to see them a lot more frequently, but drought and a large feral cat colony down the road have decimated populations of lizards and snakes that coral snakes feed on.  These are shy snakes that tend to be very nervous.  When threatened many (but not this one) curl the end of the tail into a small ball and wave it around, supposedly mimicking a head, while burying the real head under a coil of snake.  Several species of nonvenomous snakes mimic coral snakes, but their banding patterns are a bit different.  The late Dr. Roger Conant suggested thinking of a traffic light.  Red means stop, yellow means caution (except around here where a yellow light means floor it).  If the danger colors touch, it’s a coral snake.  In North America.

Clouded Leopard (Neofelis nebulosa) This is not “wild” life but the picture shows one of my favorite cats in a beautiful pose.  It was photographed at the Central Florida Zoo in Sanford, Florida.