Stocky, with a large body and shortish arms, the pale octopus (Octopus pallidus) lives in the waters off southeastern Australia, where it emerges at night to feed on shellfish.
FANTASTIC! RECENTLY DISCOVERED RUBY SEADRAGON SPOTTED IN THE WILD FOR THE FIRST TIME
Until 2015 only two species of seadragon were known, the leafy seadragon and the common seadragon, both from Australia. But that year, a new species of seadragon,
theruby seadragon was discovered, knowly from four preserved specimens, leaving many aspects of its biology unknown. It was the first seadragon species to be discovered in 150 years.
Now we know little more about them. Researchers has made the first live observations of the ruby seadragon in the wild, at Recherche Archipelago, Western Australia.
According to videos, the ruby seadragon clearly live in shallow waters (30~50m depth) in a very different habitat compared to their relatives. The ruby seadragon, unlike to other seadragon, has no leaf-like dermal appendages and has a curled, likely prehensile tail with a yellow tip. It appears that at these low-light depths, an efficient camouflage strategy for ruby seadragons is to rely on cryptic red coloration.
The clever cephalopod was spotted in the Adriatic Sea, off the Dalmatian coast, Croatia, before digging itself into the ideal hiding spot. How it sinks into the floor is quite a show. More details here.
There’s no way to say this easily, so I’m just going to say it. Tilikum - probably the most well-known and controversial orca whale in the world - has died.
Tilikum has been battling a tenacious lung infection for around a year. and that is what he likely succumbed to, despite dedicated 24-hour care. Officially, cause of death is never announced until after a thorough necropsy (animal autopsy), which involves the collection and study of many tissue samples. That takes time and allows the veterinary staff to scientifically confirm the conclusions they reach from studying the animal’s body. Tilikum’s necropsy will likely be performed in Seaworld’s on-site building, specifically built for the task of handling large cetaceans. It is reasonable then, in this case, for the press release to state that there is no official cause of death - it is suspected, but vet staff are doing their jobs and following the proper protocol before publicizing it.
Headlines all over the internet are immortalizing him as a “killer” killer whale - either the unwitting champion of a polarizing media piece, or as a violent and unstable martyr. I challenge you to think about this differently: an animal is dead. An animal we, as a collective culture, have placed a huge amount of moral and societal weight on. That should be our focus today. Not the politics, not if this is champions a movement. A whale from a beautiful, powerful, rare species is dead.
(It has not been an easy week for anyone in the orca fandom - J-2 (Granny) was announced missing from her pod and is presumed dead as well).
I want to ask people to stop, for a second, before diving into what is surely to be the newest round of furor and recognize that a beloved animal is gone and that people are grieving. Tilikum was an icon to millions of people on all sides of the cetacean captivity debate and because of that, an ambassador for his species. Whatever you say about it in the coming days, please keep in mind that for many this is an extremely personal topic, and be kind.
If you’re ever feeling down on yourself just remember that a group of animals which swim backwards and constantly bump into things has clung to existence for around 200 million years
