Astropyga The Radial, Fiery Star Butt Urchin! Observed insights from Flickr &...
A happy July week to all of you! So, as we enter into the lull of the summer I present to you some choice Echinoblog image and video picks from various image streams that show off one the internet's...
View ArticleThe Crown of Thorns Starfish in Macro! Acanthaster planci? or alien landscape?
Today as I was scrolling through the many years of posts I realized that I have NEVER written about the Crown of Thorns starfish, Acanthaster planci! If you don't live in the Indo-Pacific you might...
View ArticleHYMENASTER Deep-Sea Slime Stars from the Atlantic and Pacific!
From 2001. Hymenaster pentagonalis from the Hawaiian Islands region. Image by H. ReiswigProbably one of my FAVORITE deep-sea starfish, other than brisingidshas to be these enigmatic and bizarre...
View ArticleGorgeous Closeups of Australian Starfishes!
Greetings! This week, I thought I would share some GREAT closeups of the textures and plates on some sea stars from one of my favorite places in the world-AUSTRALIA! If you would like to see more of...
View ArticleTaxonomy: Lurking behind all the Big Announcements!
GREETINGS! And my apologies for the long silence over the last few weeks: a little bit of time to recharge the batteries and a little bit of frantic insanity as the fall began! So, this week I am...
View ArticleUnravelling the secret diversity of Psychropotes! A global sea cucumber...
via the NOAA photo library http://www.photolib.noaa.gov/htmls/expl6751.htmToday we look at one of the most bizarre deep-sea echinoderms (if not deep-sea ANIMALS) that I know of! the sea cucumber...
View ArticleA Guide to Invertebrate Zoology on Twitter!!
image by the indubitable Arthur AnkerThis week. Something a little different. I was doing a short presentation for some colleagues about using social media next week and I began accumulating...
View ArticleNew Species of Sea Stars from the North Pacific and BEYOND!
This week I announce a NEW paper in the latest issue of the journal ZOOTAXA describing a new genus and THREE new species of deep-sea starfishes! Vol. 4175 (2): 101-141 You may recall back in 2009 when...
View Article#SEASLUGDAY2016: Nudibranchs eat ALL THE THINGS!
image by Alexander SemenovHappy SEA SLUG DAY! This educational event began last year (2015) in honor of Dr. Terry Gosliner, nudibranch researcher extraordinaire at the California Academy of Sciences!!...
View ArticleTrenches: Death Stars vs. Sea Stars! (thank you again Paris!)
A hearty BONJOUR from Paris! Where Echinoblog returns to blog from a research trip at the Museum national d'Histoire naturelle! Yes.. Echinoblog has returned to its yearly soujourn to the City of...
View ArticleStarfish Guide for the Philippines: How Many Species Can We Get from Flickr?
Photo by Matt Kiefer via Wikipedia: Greetings! Yes. I have been posting less frequently. Busy with various projects and winter season stuff!Today's post is a kind of response to a fairly common request...
View ArticleBrittle Stars that Steal Food From Jellyfish!
Ophiuroids on Jelly in Mozambique. Photo by Andrea Marshall, Daily Mail, http://www.dailymail.co.uk/~/article-3990782/index.html#i-570251ad33a88841And a HAPPY NEW 2017 to everyone! Yes. Obviously...
View ArticleHighlights from the recent NOAA Okeanos Explorer Samoa Expedition!
So, here is a nice highlight of various wonderful invertebrates observed by NOAA's deep-sea research vessel, the Okeanos Explorer which for all of 2016 and 2017 will be studying the massive marine...
View ArticleOkeanos Tropical Pacific Highlights: RARE and BRILLIANT Echinoderms!!
Over the last 10 days or so since Okeanos Explorer has resumed its ROV-telepresence based exploration of the Phoenix Islands and adjacent areas in the tropical Pacific they've seen some REMARKABLE...
View ArticleOkeanos Follow-up: Giant Sea-Spiders EAT! Cnidarians, Anemones, Hydroids &...
Many of you know that I occasionally "call in" when the NOAA deep-sea research platform Okeanos Explorer goes out to see on its missions. (remember the next leg BEGINS APRIL 27...
View ArticleBrittle Stars of (squid & fish) Death pt 2! Okeanos Explorer Edition!
This Saturday we were witness to one of the most AMAZING echinoderm related ecology/natural history moments that I've seen in awhile!Namely watching this brittle star CAPTURE and EAT SWIMMING PREY!.....
View ArticleTremaster mirabilis! Five things I have learned about a Fantastic Starfish!
Baker IslandBack in 2008 I wrote a post about a great looking starfish that I wanted to know more about, a weird looking deep-sea star called Tremaster mirabilis! Its a striking looking animal and its...
View ArticleFive Highlights from my NEW paper about the genus Ferdina and its relatives!
GREETINGS! Last week, a new paper I've literally been working on since I finished my PhD has FINALLY been completed! Its easily my largest monograph at the moment and includes a whopping 14 new...
View ArticleBIG NEWS!!! Echinoblog Will be ON Okeanos Explorer!!
Some EXCITING news! I have signed on to join NOAA's research vessel Okeanos Explorer as the Biology co-Lead for their July Expedition Broad casting from (approximately) July 13 to August 1!...
View ArticleOkeanos Explorer Communities & Deep-Sea Discoveries!
I'm BACK! After a month at sea with 2.5 weeks worth of dives I've safely returned to "home base" in Washington DC! I was out in the central Pacific with NOAA's R/V Okeanos Explorer on their Laulima O...
View ArticlePacific Northwest Sea Stars Names: EXPLAINED!!
So, a bit of bookkeeping- yes. I've been writing the blog less regularly. This has been largely a good problem to have: lots of other projects have been keeping me busy.. So, I'm mainly just writing...
View ArticleUnusual Surface Texture in Luidia ciliaris! Unknown natural history or ???
GREETINGS! and Happy New Year! Yes. Sorry. Its been awhile since I've blogged.. Lots of travelling and research are a good thing...but time for essential outreach can sometimes be fleeting!For my...
View ArticleTaxonomy Day 2018! Museum Trends from Starfish Travels!
So for the last 3 years, I've been lucky. There have been multiple opportunities for me to do field work but more importantly to visit museum all around the world in order to study the animals I love...
View ArticleThe "starfish walking back to the sea" FAQ & why it is sad
So, apparently back in 2012, the original producer of this video shot this lone sea star out on a South Carolina beach as it was struggling to get back to the ocean, likely due to a mass stranding or...
View Article#PolychaeteDay 2018 Edition: Swimming Polychaete Worms!
Photo by Karen OsbornSo, Every July 1st is the , now posthumous, birthday of NMNH curator Kristian Fauchald, one of the most prolific taxonomists publishing on polychaete worms of the 20th Century!...
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