Mollusc Facts

the species pictured is a Platevindex, which are particularly interesting to me since their backs are studded with extra eyes! the dorsal papillae each have a little black dot that’s a photoreceptor, which helps the slug detect changes in light exposure.

onchidiids are marine animals, living on costal rocks and in mangroves, but breathe air and spend much of their time out of the water. like the leatherleafs, they’ve got a dry, tough hide that maintains water balance, but Platevindex takes that to an extreme—when I picked one up, it felt like a vulcanized rubber tire!

“Octopus Mother”

by Kat Zhou

put the octopus in the basket

put the octopus in the basket

weigh the bas--

put the octopus in the basket

weigh the basket

put the octopus in the water

The Octopus Garden—an octopus nursery off the coast of Central California—captured the curiosity of millions of people around the world. Now, MBARI and its advanced deep-sea technology have helped BBC Earth share the story of these octopus moms as part of their new series, Planet Earth III.

MBARI’s education and outreach efforts are raising awareness about the importance of ocean health. We hope meeting the amazing animals of the deep inspires conscientious stewardship of marine animals and environments.

MBARI’s SciComm Team shares discoveries by our scientists and innovations from our engineers with the public through our website and social media channels. When opportunities arise, the team works with media partners to further extend the reach of our stories.

We hope that audiences the world over will enjoy Planet Earth III and come away with a greater love for all the diverse life that thrives on our planet.

Learn more at:

Ornate Sapsucking Slug  (Ornate Elysia)

Elysia ornata is a sea slug in the Family Plakobranchidae (Order Sacoglossa). Its body is a translucent leaf-green in color with speckles of white and black. The parapodial margin is black with a yellow or orange submarginal band. The green rhinophores are usually black-tipped, but can also have orange bands (as shown).

It is also known as Ornate Leaf Slug. They feed on green algae (Bryopsis sp.), and reaches a length of 5cm.

This species is circumtropical and can be found both in the Caribbean and the Pacific Ocean.

Reference: [1] 

Photo credit: ©Blogie | [Top] - [Bottom]

Is a chonk. Probably the chonkiest nanner I've ever seen 🍌

About 60 of the ~300 squid species belong to the cranchids, many of whom we call "Glass squid"!

Many of them have light-producing photophores under their eyes. The smallest is about lemon sized. The biggest? Colossal squid! Colossal squid are ~10 meters long, but what their max length could be is hotly debated. There are also rumors about a very very large specimen of another cranchid that we think would be more see-through than the Colossal squid, but it gets some squid biologists all twisted up. Is it real? Is it fake? Well, I sure as hell don't know, but I think it's best to not underestimate a squid.

Here's an example of this group, Taonius borealis!

Mustard semi-slug, Echinix ochracea, Xanthonychidae

Semi-slugs are a type of intermediate gastropod between slugs and snails - they retain a shell, but it is partially or completely hidden by the mantle.