fish

SYLVIA THE SEAHORSE!

Hi everyone! I’m Sylvia the Seahorse! I’m the last of the new professors to introduce myself here at the University of Ellie and Edmond! I’m named after Sylvia Earl, the famous ocean explorer! I’ll be here to teach you all about the fish of the world’s oceans and freshwater habitats. Fish come in all sizes and shapes and we live at the very deepest parts of the oceans to the rivers at the tops of mountains! Some of us are colorful and oddly shaped and others of us are plain.
Most people don’t know that I am a fish, but I am! I live in the Great Barrier Reef off the coast of Australia! I’m not the strongest swimmer as my dorsal fin is very small, so I stay close to the corals, where I hang on with my tail. I eat small plankton and crustaceans that I suck into my snout. I must constantly eat because I have no stomach. I can eat up to 3,000 shrimp a day! They sure are tasty. I have a mate who incubates our young. That’s right the male seahorse has a pouch that he carries the eggs in until the hatch.
I am so excited to share more about myself and my fish friends here at The University! I hope you’re excited too!

Day #27 (3/13/14) – Guess the Animal

We just had to snorkel at the Great Barrier Reef while we were in Australia! We spotted this little fish! Can you guess?

•          This fish lives in coral reefs.
•          They live with an anemone.
•          They are brightly colored.

Who is it?

–Ellie and Edmond

 Day #12 (1/23/14) – Guess the Animal

We’re having trouble with the internet out here on our boat. It makes it hard to post. Good thing we head back to land this afternoon. We saw the most amazing fish yesterday in the sub and as we headed back to the surface we spotted a school of these fish. Read the clues and tell which fish you think it is!

•          They are a cartilaginous fish.
•          They can be seen in schools or alone.
•          They are named after a tool.

Who is it?

–Ellie and Edmond

Day #11 (1/22/2014) Back on the road(and in the ocean)

      We had a great weekend and really enjoyed celebrating Penguin Appreciation Day and Squirrel Appreciation Day! We spent the evening before deciding where we wanted to go this short week. We haven’t taken out the submarine in while, so we made the decision to do looking for a crazy looking fish! Packing up a submarine can be tricky, but luckily we have a great support staff. It’s always exciting to get lowered in to the water and find amazing species! Today’s fish is especially crazy! It’s the Barreleye!

Their range and habitat: tropical-subtropical oceans/ worldwide

Their length: up to 4 ¼”    Their status: common

They are carnivores

• Barreleyes have upward facing and barrel shaped eyes.
• They have spineless dorsal fin.
• They have a light reflecting organ that makes the barreleye practically invisible from the underside.
• Barreleyes are found in deep waters; as deep as 80m.
• Barreleyes are toothless.

You never known what two explorers will find when they go looking the oceans great depths. We know so little about the creatures that live in the largest habitat on earth. Ellie has a bit of claustrophobia, so after a few hours in the sub she is ready to come back to the surface. I myself could stay in there for hours and hours! Tomorrow is Guess the Animal and it’s one we spotted on our way back up to the surface!

-Edmond