conservation

 IT’S A MORAY!

Hehehehe! Who doesn’t love a good pun? Edmond loves them! When we were out looking for brain corals we spotted this special animal! They love to hide in the cracks and crevices of the coral reef and are considered very shy! So we were super excited to spot or maybe stripe is a better word, this creature!

Range/Habitat: Pacific-Indian Ocean/ reefs

 Diet: Carnivore: fish, crustaceans

 Length/Weight:  up to 35”/ 22 lb

 Conservation Status: common

Fun Facts:

•          They have long muscular bodies with no pectoral or pelvic fins. They do have one long dorsal fin.
  
•          Zebra morays usually hide in rocks or corals.
•      They are almost blind and hunt by smell.
  
•      They have flat teeth for crushing shells.
•       Zebra morays breathe by passing water through their mouths over their gills.
  
•          They have toxins in their skin to protect them from predators.

We love these beautiful eels. They look menacing, but are considered to be a social species of eel. The reef is one of our most favorite places to visit!

BRAINS!!

We have been thinking of all the wonderful animals that live in the ocean after last week’s We Are Fanimaly and Professor Tamandua’s post on mermaid’s purses. We decided to find out what makes a brain coral a brain coral! Who’s ready to find out with us?

• There are more than one species of brain coral.
• They are found in coral reefs and help build those habitats.
• Brain corals get their name from their resemblance to the brain with it’s groves and ridges.
• Brain corals are made up of thousands of little polyps that form a calcium carbonate skeleton.

• They are stony or hard corals.
• Brain coral can grow up to 6ft and can live for up to 900 years.
• Brain coral feed at night on plankton. They extend their tentacles and sting their prey.
• Brain coral are very slow growing.

Brain corals are amazing colony animals! We are always fascinated with these tiny animals that build a beautiful habitat that supports hundreds of other animals in the world’s coral reefs! What do you love about coral?

WE ARE FANIMALY!!!

We have a whole new We Are Fanimaly for you today! It’s been a while since we did one and we’re super excited to talk about these animal relatives! Come meet these ocean dwelling relatives!

• Coral and Jellies (often called jellyfish) are members of the cnidarian (the c is silent) family.
• Corals are invertebrates (they lack a backbone).
• Corals are mostly found in warm tropical ocean waters.
• Corals live in a colony that is made of calcium carbonate. Each coral has it’s own skeleton that helps make one large coral.
• The coral animal itself has a soft body that protects itself with that hard outer skeleton.
• Coral come in all shapes, sizes and colors.
• Corals build large reefs that then become a habitat for many other ocean animals, including fish, octopuses and sea turtles.
• Corals have tiny stingy cells called nematocytes.
• Jellies are also invertebrates.
• Jellies are found in oceans around the earth.
• Jellies are carnivores.
• Jellies have thousands of stinging cells (also called nematocytes) along their tentacles.
• A jellie’s tentacles can be very short or very long.
• Jellies have no left or right side, only a top (called the bell) and a bottom.
• Jellies have no brain or blood.

Wow! Who knew that corals and jellies were related? We sure will be wary around both creatures and those stinging cells! Jellies are one of the leatherback sea turtles favorite food! And without corals and their reefs, many ocean creatures would not have a habitat to live in! These two creatures are just another reason we should help protect our oceans!