Sunday, March 1, 2009

Rubber Ball - Psychedelica

Quick, make a guess. What do you think this object is.

If you guessed 'fish', then you are absolutely correct. This is a newly-discovered frogfish found in the shallow waters off Ambon island in eastern Indonesia.

Named "psychedelica", this fish bounces on the ocean floor like a rubber ball and has been classified as a new species. It has a swirl of tan and peach zebra stripes that extend from its aqua eyes to its tail. It also has a flat face with eyes directed forward, like humans, and a huge, yawning mouth. Its fist-sized gelatinous body covered with thick folds of skin protects it from sharp-edged corals.

It is heartening that new animal species are still being discovered though I hate to think that we are seeing new species because their habitats have been disturbed or polluted (by us).

Tell me, what is the most memorable or unusual sea-creature you have ever seen.

4 comments:

  1. Hi The Happy Surfer.
    I don’t know about the most unusually sea creature, the most memorable was whilst in the Indian Ocean seeing the porpoises scheming the waves in front of the ships bow, also the ‘Flying fish’ dodging the tops of the waves. The best must have been whilst on a ship in the North Atlantic [North of the UK] as a ‘Gofer’ [A general dogs body, go for this, go for that] The Company I worked for then were trying to sell a submersible underwater vessel to prospective purchaser and for a full ten minutes we had a whale swimming parallel to the ship, nothing spectacular like leaping out of the sea but just being there - fantastic. - Mick.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Anonymous10:33 PM

    Haha..my 1st guess was a fish!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Know about this from TV! I love underwater creatures! =)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Mick, those must be awesome experiences. I have not seen anything elaborate but just seeing fishes swimming in a pond fascinates me. LOL!

    Mei Teng, nothing escapes a photographer's eyes, eh?

    Tekkaus, the beauty of nature.

    ReplyDelete