Thursday, July 9, 2009

More deep-sea cukes! Swimming Sea Cucumber Enypiastes!!

Its Thursday! Continuing our deep-sea cuke theme this week!

We live in a wonderous world. No less then THREE videos of the deep-sea swimming cucumber -the genus Enypniastes- are now available for all to see!!

1. Enypniastes BEAUTIFUL close up footage of the beast swimming!
(note that the term "spanish dancer" usually refers to a species of swimming nudibranch/sea slug)


2. Bioluminescence!



3. Swimming!
(narrated by Bob Carney-Louisiana State University)

2 comments:

Jennifer Frazer said...

Wow. Just wow. What is that glowing orange sausage-looking tube in the first video? And what are all those insect-looking-scrambling-about bioluminescing bits in the second video?

Thanks so much for sharing this! I actually laughed aloud with glee watching the second video.

ChrisM said...

based on its location, I think the tube to be its intestine (I'm not sure what else it could be)..

the little bits coming off the bioluminescence one are actually photophores-ie. the cells that produce the light. As I recall they poked the cuke with a stick a little and hence all the lighting up...