POTRET: Catalogue of Strange Sea Creatures

Pelagic Sea HareCredit: WoRMS Photo Gallery / Paulay, Gustav, 2010This colorful sea slug was first discovered in 1825 off the coast of New Guinea by French naturalists Joseph Paul Gaimard and Jean René Constant Quoy. The Stylocheilus longicauda lives in warm waters amidst brown algae and rarely ventures close to shore. 

Ubiquitous CrustaceanCredit: WoRMS Photo Gallery / Chan, Tin-Yam, 2010This specimen of Crenarctus bicuspidatus was collected from shallow waters off Taiwan in 2010. The crustacean, first discovered in 1905, inhabits oceans from South Africa all the way to Japan. It is often found in shallow waters and prefers sandy seabeds littered with broken shells and dead coral.

Bryde's Whale Credit: WoRMS Photo Gallery / Robert Pitman, NOAA Fisheries, 2009The majestic Balaenoptera edeni was first discovered in 1878 but takes its common name from Johan Bryde, who set up the first whale hunting post in Durban, South Africa. The majestic sea creatures prefer warmer coastal waters and can grow up to 50 feet (15 meters) in length.   

Blue Sea SquirtCredit: WoRMS Photo Gallery / Paulay, Gustav, 2010The bizarre Clavelina moluccensis, looks like a bouquet of iridescent slinkies. The blue sea squirt lives on dead coral from Australia to the Mariana Islands, and filters nutrients from water passing by. The creature was first described in 1904. 

Pippi Longstocking WormCredit: WoRMS Photo Gallery / Adrian Glover, 2009The transluscent Ophryotrocha langstrumpae sports long antennae that resemble braids, just like the children's book heroine. The worm lives off the Southern California coast and was first described in 2012.  

Wavy Sea SlugCredit: WoRMS Photo Gallery / Paulay, Gustav, 2010The sea slug Chromodoris kuniei ransoni lives in the islands off the remote archipelago in French Polynesia. The species was first discovered in 1930. 

Glowing jellyfishCredit: WoRMS Photo Gallery / Collins, Allen G., 2012The stalked jellyfish Haliclystus californiensis lives between depths of 33 feet (10 meters) and 99 feet (30 m) below the waters off the California coast. Unlike other members of its genus, the bright red sea creature has horseshoe-shaped anchors and prominent glandular pads on its outer tentacles.

(MN/Tia Ghose)