Nope! thats not a Sea Pig!
and yeap…. this was a post just waiting to happen…. in my previous post, i mentioned that sea pigs found in the abyssopelagic zone.
well, they arent exactly like the pigs you find up on land. sea pigs are actually echinoderms. the same phylla that houses sea stars and jellyfish.
they are called such because their bodies look ballooned up, and they have tube feet which look elongated enough to look like legs..
and for the pic…….. *drumroll*
ta daa……… they look so cute, i want one too!!!
sea pigs. here’s the back view.
and now for the side view…
haha…. amazing! im just tickled!
sea pigs are somewhat part of the sea cucumber family. they are all echinoderms anyway.
they are often found in large quantities. and some scientists have spotted them all facing the same direction. and speculate that it might be due to the falling debris from the ocean surface. (since thats their diet).
my assumption is that they are passive creatures, with little need to camouflage, or hide.
their biggest predator may be parasites, like snails. thats gross.
and for your final shot of a nice sea pig,
there you go………..
such cute things…. for more info on sea pigs, visit this echinoblog.
seapig
February 11, 2010 at 9:22 pm
Jellyfish are cnidarians, not echinoderms. Technicalities aside, they are pretty cute. The name really seals the deal with the cuteness too.
misspegasus
February 12, 2010 at 1:06 pm
thanks! Yep, i checked and jellyfish are cnidarians!:p
Glen
September 26, 2010 at 3:34 pm
Amazing
), They are kinda cute and wierd, enthralling really. the conical shapes? are they offspring or extensions?
Indigo Graham
September 26, 2010 at 5:52 pm
Uh i don’t find them cute…
Do they even have eyes and whats in them a light boble ewwww my head hurts haha
no offence little one
misspegasus
September 26, 2010 at 6:15 pm
well its cute in a weird way… its just weird… im not quite sure what the conical things are. i already tried searching for it when i put up the post, but no results…
i dont suppose they have eyes. even if they do, i dont see it’ll be of much use cos no light reaches down where they live. they must have sensors of some sort. not electrical one though, cos those are used for predation more than anything else and sea pigs dont predate. they just suck in falling debris…
Martha
December 14, 2011 at 11:07 pm
The conical things are snail parasites apparently: “Small snails (genus Stilapex) that work their way into the body wall and suck on their juices!” http://echinoblog.blogspot.com/2009/07/because-you-demanded-it-sea-pig-aka.html
misspegasus
December 14, 2011 at 11:32 pm
wow! thanks for sharing Martha!!!
Das
December 15, 2011 at 10:48 am
It’s not a jellyfish, it is an echinoderm (holothuroid)