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The sea pen, aka sea pansies, are a cosmopolitan species that can be found in oceans all over the world. These peculiar creatures spend their lives partially dug into the substrate with their feather-like proboscis sticking out and gathering food. These creatures are mostly undocumented with the IUCN. However, the […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The sea squirt, aka tunicate or ascidian, is a sessile (organism that is permanently fixed to a surface) that can be found in oceans all over the world and at all depths. They typically dwell on rocks, pier pilings, ship hulls, large seashells, and on the backs of large crustaceans. […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The sea pig is a type of sea cucumber. They can be found in oceans all over the world. But good luck finding 1 of these critters. They dwell on the ocean floor, at depths of up to 16,000 feet. These echinoderms are difficult to study since they live at […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The nudibranch, aka sea slug, can be found throughout the shallower water of the world’s oceans. Some nudibranchs can be found at depths of up to 8,200 feet. There are over 3,000 known species of nudibranchs. As a whole, the known global distribution of nudibranchs is listed as Least Concern […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The sponge has been around for an awfully long time; 600 million years! That is since the Precambrian period of our planet’s history. With approximately 8,550 different described species of sponge, there are a lot to pick from. Found from shallow water to 3.1 miles deep and in saltwater and […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The freshwater jellyfish, aka peach blossom jellyfish, originally hails from the Yangtze River valley in China. However, is has been introduced to every continent, sans Antarctica. They prefer calm, freshwater reservoirs, lakes, impoundments, gravel pits, quarries, and slow-moving backwaters of river systems. These jellyfish are not currently evaluated by the […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The sand dollar, aka sand cake, cake urchin, or sea biscuit, has been collected as a beach souvenir for the longest time. You’ve probably seen them adorning a wicker basket in someone’s beach-themed bathroom. But did you know that sand dollars look quite different when alive? For instance, the white […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

After the European Limax cinereoniger, the California banana slug is the second largest slug in the world. Banana slugs are native to the redwood forests in the Pacific coast in North America. You can typically view them cruising around on the forest floor, especially when it’s wet out. There are […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

Now I’m not referring to lawyers, I’m talking about the blood sucking worm-like creatures. The leech is found all over the world, sans the Arctic and Antarctica, usually in stagnant or vernal pools. They feast on blood meals and can get quite large doing so; especially the ones from the […]

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This article was originally published on Critter Science.

The sea cucumber is found throughout the world’s oceans. The sea cucumber belongs to a group of animals called echinoderms. Their closest relatives happen to be starfish as well as sea urchins. There are over 1,200 known species of sea cucumber! Sea cumbers are touted as having medicinal properties and […]

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