Lutjanus analis This snapper has an almond-shaped body and pointed fins, including a crescent tail fin. They are olive on top, with red tint on their sides and underside, as well as distinct markings like the spot on the upper side and blue lines on their cheeks. At rest they display paler bars a
Larval snappers feed on plankton near the surface of the water.
Holacanthus ciliaris This vibrant oval-shaped reef fish has trailing dorsal and anal fins and a triangular tail. It is blue-green with blue and yellow highlights on its fins, and can be differentiated from the similar blue angelfish by the prominent dark ringed ‚crown‘ spot on its forehead. These
marine invertebrates including sponges, tunicates, jellyfish, and corals as well as plankton
Gustav Paulay, curator of marine malacology at the Florida Museum of Natural History, talks about larval crab development and how DNA analysis and comparisons of larval and adult crabs helps increase our understanding of different crab species. Interview and videos produced by Anthony Rinaldo for E
So they end up in the plankton floating in the ocean as little itty-bitty, tiny little
Invertebrate zoology is the study of all animals without backbones. Of the major divisions (phyla) of animal life, about 97 percent are invertebrates. Our Invertebrate Zoology Collection began as a malacology collection (mollusks) under Thompson Van Hyning, the first director of the Florida Museum.
Except some deep-sea species turned to snagging plankton with specialized, hooked
Regalecus glesne This unusual fish is possibly a source for sea monster legends as its ribbon-like body can grow to 36 feet long in some cases. The long, flat, tapering body is reflective silver with a dorsal fin running the length of it that it uses to swim and turn with. Its abrupt, slightly co
Food Habits Oarfish feed on plankton, crustaceans, and squid by straining them from
Manta Manta birostris This is the largest ray in the world, its ‚wing span‘ averaging about 22 feet across, but measured at almost 30 feet in rare cases. It has distinct triangular pectoral wings that arch backwards, and cephalic fins on either side of its mouth that can be unfurled and angl
on either side of its mouth that can be unfurled and angled to direct water and plankton
Amphiprion percula These small reef fish spend a great deal of their lives in a symbiotic relationship with a specific anemone, often with a mate and several non-breeding fish. They are protandrous hermaphrodites, which means all fish are males except for the largest of the group, which is female
They forage on algae and plankton as well as obtain food from the host anemone.
Coral reef communities within Florida waters are categorized as: Hardbottom Patch Reef Bank Reef Hardbottom Community Close to shore Low species diversity Dominated by gorgonians, algae, and sponges Hardbottom reef communities are found close to shore over limesto
© Mark Younger The patch reef originates with a coral larva settling out of the plankton
The largest climate change in central North America since the age of the dinosaurs 65 million years ago, a temperature drop of nearly 15 degrees Fahrenheit, is documented within the fossilized teeth of horses and other plant-eating mammals, a new study reveals. The overwhelming majority of pr
dramatic climatic changes in the earliest Oligocene based on the record of marine plankton
Chaetodon ocellatus This popular aquarium fish normally inhabits sandy bottom shallows in and around reefs in the Western Atlantic. It has an oval white body and yellow fins, with a black bar running down its face and a signature black spot at the base of its dorsal fin. Spotfins pair up for spaw
After reaching approximately 20mm, the larvae settle out of the plankton, onto a
