Marine Life with Brenda

Boarfish  Boarfish ( Capros aper ) which also happen to have a super cool nickname "Zulu fish" are unusal creatures that can be found along the west and south cost of the United Kingdom. They can be found over mixed and muddy or sandy seabeds while avoiding very heavy or rocky soil. Boar fish generally avoid very shallow waters and can be found in approximately 100 metres deep.  Author: Brenda Moita 

The sand tiger shark  The sand tiger shark ( Carcharias taurus ), black nurse shark, spotted ragged-tooth shark, or blue-nurse sand tiger, is a shark species inhabiting subtropical and temperate waters around the world. This lives on the continental shelf, from sandy shorelines (hence the name of sand tiger shark) to a depth of about 191 metres. Sand tiger sharks live the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans.  Several factors contribute to the loss of the sand tiger population. Sand tigers reproduce at an unusually low rate because they have no more than two pups at a time, and because they only breed every second or third year. In addition, t his shark is a highly prized food item in the West Pacific, off Ghana and off India and Pakistan. Consequently, this species is listed on the International Union for Nature Conservation Red List as vulnerable and endangered under the 1992 Queensland Nature Conservation Act. Author: Brenda Moita 

Crayfish  Crayfish are freshwater crustaceans that resemble small lobsters. They are also known as crawfish, crawdads, lobsters for lakes, lobsters for rivers, mudbugs, and yabbies. Taxonomically they belong to the Astacoidea and Parastacoidea superfamily. Several species are present in brooks and streams where fresh water runs, while others flourish in swamps, paddy fields, and ditches. (By the way they make delicious food, I mean they are delicious with rice or pasta!).  Author: Brenda Moita 

The  ocellated eagle ray   The ocellated eagle ray  ( Aetobatus ocellatus ) is a cartilaginous fish species in the Myliobatidae tribe of the Eagle rays. It is native to the Indo-West Pacific tropical region. They like to eat gastropods, bivalve mollusks, shellfish, worms, and fish. This ray demonstrates Ovoviviparity with embryos that primarily feed on yolk, and then receive additional nutrients from the mother by indirect ingestion of enriched uterine fluid. Author: Brenda Moita 

Blennies   If you enjoy rock-pooling you've probably came across these marine creatures. Blenny is a vague name which have been extended to various marine, brackish, and some freshwater fish families that share similar morphology and behaviour. Only a small proportion of them, to be more precise, six families are considered "true blennies," both grouped in the order Blenniiformesa and their members are called blenniiformids.  Blennies are a capable of breathing out of water since they are able to maintain a moist external layer and are adapted  the normal changes of cycles of rockpools.  Author: Brenda Moita

Cuttlefish Cuttlefish ( Sepia officinalis ) are masters in altering their appearance in order to blend into their environment. But the cephalopods can no longer hide their inner thoughts, thanks to a technique that tracks the ever-changing patterns on their skin which infers the brain activity of a cuttlefish.  Cuttlefish  camouflage themselves by contracting muscles around thin, coloured skin cells called chromatophores. The cells come in multiple colours and act as pixels through the body of the cuttlefish, shifting their scale to change the pattern on the surface of the mammal.  Author: Brenda Moita