Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Ophiuroids (brittle stars) & other photography by Dr. Arthur Anker!

This week is busy and so I leave you with some STUNNING photography by one of my colleagues.. Dr. Arthur Anker!  He studies mostly shrimps and other crustaceans but does incredible things with a camera! If you're looking to hire a biologist who knows his decapods he gets my vote!

Artour's full photostream can be found here on Flickr!   Enjoy!

Tropical brittle stars (2)

Tropical brittle stars (1)

Harlequin brittlestar, Utila, Honduras

This looks like the top side of Ophiarachna
Labyrinth brittle star

Here's the mouth and underside..
Brittle star oral side

Damn... just stunning. An electric blue Ophiothrix from Australia (Great Barrier Reef)
Electric brittle-star (Ophiothrix sp), GBR, Australia

Here's an Ophiothrix from Panama
Brittle

Ophionereis? I think.. from Panama
A leopard brittle star from the Pacific coast of Panama

I believe this is Ophioderma (giraffe patterned) from St. Martin
Giraffe-patterned brittle-star

Some baby brittle stars from Moorea!
Baby brittle stars

Some Non-echinoderms...
A male sea spider...
Male ovigerous sea spider (Pycnogonida)

Wormy elegance
An amazing worm (Trypanosyllis sp. (Syllidae) from Moorea, French Polynesia. (ID by Leslie Harris)
A polychaete worm (Nereis cf. riisei) rolled up into a spiral
Nereis cf riisei, rolled in a spiral
One of the most beautiful (and IMHO best named) crabs in the world-Lophozozymus incisus
Lophozozymus incisus - one of the most beautiful crabs in the world
A sexy yellow and purple hermit crab Pylopaguropsis lemaitrei from Moorea
Yellow & purple: Pylopaguropsis lemaitrei from Moorea

3 comments:

Giuditta said...

Thank you for posting these extraordinary photos. They made my day. Inspiring for biologists and artists alike!

Unknown said...

Incredible colors. Truly, this proves the statement that 'science and art are sometimes indistinguishable from one another'.

critter said...

Thank you for your beautiful work...
Without you most folks (me included)
would never know any of this existed...
Peace to you Dr. Anker