Invertebrate Zoo!: April 2013

Echinoderma: Cushioned Sea Star!

Cushioned sea stars can have 4-6 arms.
Young cushioned sea stars are green, and become brown, yellow, orange, or red.
Cushioned sea stars grow up to 50 cm.
The main threats to the existence to the existence of a cushioned sea star are pollution or the destruction of its habitat.
Cushioned sea stars are omnivores, which means they eat plants and animals.

Common Hermit Crabs are nocturnal.
Common Hermit Crabs can and will eat almost anything a human eats; from meat, fruit, and vegetables to popcorn, peanut butter, or crackers,
Some common hermit crabs have been known to live up to 30 years.
Common Hermit Crabs select their shells while young, and do not grow their own.
Common Hermit crabs are social animals, and often live in groups up to 100.

Lugworms are typically found on shores, in sand, or muddy sand.
Lugworms live off the coast of the UK and North-Western Europe.
The main threat to lugworms are birds that prey on them, and the usage of them as bait.
The lugworm is also called the Blow Lug or Rock Worm.
Lugworms have separate genders and are not hermaphroditic.

One of the main threats to the existence of Boulder Brain Coral are diseases such as white plague and black-band disease.
Boulder Brain Coral can reproduce asexually by budding, or sexually by releasing sperm.
Boulder Brain Coral grow in the Caribbean, The Gulf of Mexico, off the coast of Florida, and in The Bahamas.
Boulder Brain Coral are typically about two meters in diameter.
The polyps of a Boulder Brain Coral extend, but only at night.

Dumbo Octopuses typically live about 4,000 meters under sea level, however, one Dumbo Octopus was recorded to have lived 7,000 meters below sea level.
Dumbo Octopuses are about 8-12 inches long.
Dumbo Octopuses swallow their prey whole.
The Dumbo Octopus gets its name from its two large fins, resembling the ears of Disney's character Dumbo, which it uses to swim.
The female Dumbo Octopus lay eggs perpetually throughout the year, not just during breeding season.

The Red Tree sponge gets it's name from it's red-orange color and tree-like branches.
Red Tree Sponges are indigenous to the Caribbean Sea.
To obtain nutrients, Red Tree Sponges filter plankton from the water.
Red Tree Sponges are peaceful and not aggressive.
They are of the family Axeniellidae.

*Scientifically Known As Haliclona Compressa