For sea stars or limpets, it’s not gross at all to have a commensal scale worm tucked inside you. W – WormsĪll right, prepare for something kind of gross. Around Tacoma, they’ve gained legendary status as beloved inhabitants of the old Narrow Bridge, which toppled in 1940.įIND OURS: Near the Under the Narrows habitat. They’re smart, they’re sociable with humans, they’re incredibly strong, have suckers all over their eight arms, a sharp beak in their mouth and a head directly attached to their “feet” (hence the class name cephalopod). No argument here – the giant Pacific octopus has long claimed the Puget Sound title for favorite Halloween-ish animal. (Ask a naturalist to point them out.) O – Octopus “Actually, they could see our hands coming from a long way off.”Įven weirder? Each of those tiny eyes has a lens made of aragonite – a type of rock.įIND OURS: In the Tidal Touch Zone. “We wondered why we could never surprise them when we tried to move them to another spot,” say the naturalists in the Tidal Touch Zone. And with eyes all over their backs, they can see anything coming in air or water. These molluscs may be small, but have armored plates on their back for defense and can curl up into a ball, potato-bug-style, around prey. Thousands of eyes all over your back? Now that’s seriously scary – if you’re one inch across, the size of a line chiton. They’re not great at swimming, so they attach themselves to kelp, eelgrass or rocks around Pacific Northwest waters.įIND OURS: In the Tidal Touch Zone. Pacific spiny lumpsuckers – even the name is grisly! And the fish? Well, despite having lumpy skin, bulgy eyes, a puffy white body and fins with suction cups, these little guys are absolutely adorable. ![]() And you have to admit, they’re pretty.įIND OURS: In Northwest Waters and nearby habitats, including Puget Sound Color, where tiny strawberry anemones look exactly like pink lichen. Okay, anything that entices prey with welcoming tentacles, then stings them with tiny toxic harpoons is worthy of a horror movie – especially if you’re the prety.īut anemones are also home for some fish, and are essential to the ecosystem. Pretty cool.įIND OURS: In Baja Bay in the Pacific Seas Aquarium. But scalloped hammerheads aren’t scary, they’ve just evolved for their environment: a broad head with wide-apart eyes helps them find prey with stereoscopic vision. Add in shark teeth and you have a contender for Most Bizarre Halloween Look. H – Hammerhead sharksĪ rectangular head with scalloped edges. (Plus a white crab nicknamed “Casper.”) If you’re looking for weird, cool or slightly icky, our Pacific Seas Aquarium and South Pacific Aquarium have got those in spades. Lumpsuckers, tentacles, vacuum mouths and just plain scary faces. ![]() Have a thick slime coating on their skin that helps protect them (works like an immune system) Sometimes get itchy skin and can be seen swimming upside down rubbing their backs on rocks to scratch the itch.Just when you thought it was safe to go into the zoo, we bring you – Halloween in the Aquarium! Arms covered with suckers. Wolf-eels live in rocky reef-type habitats from the intertidal zone down to about 740 feet. Wolf eels are found in the North Pacific along the coast of North America from southern Alaska to California. It was given this name because of its powerful jaws and sharp teeth that it uses to crush hard-shelled creatures, such as crabs and abalone Where can I find wolf eels? Are wolf eels and wolf fish the same?ĭespite its name, the Wolf Eel is actually a fish. Only a few deep water species of true eels can be found in Washington waters and none are likely to be seen in Puget Sound. The wolf eel is in the family Anarchichadidae (wolf fishes). But in reality, wolf eels are quite docile, friendly, and very curious. ![]() Younger wolf eels are orange with big dark spots in the posterior part of the body. The animal can grow up to 2.4 m (7 ft 10 in) in length and 18.4 kg (41 lb) in weight. If they feel trapped or if a human sticks their foot down in a hole, they may defensively bite. Basically, eels aren’t aggressive to humans, he said. ![]() What is the most dangerous electric eel?Įel attacks are quite rare. The male and female may pair for life and inhabit a cave together the two watch their eggs together and one always stays behind when the other leaves to feed. Large wolf eels are curious and are rarely aggressive, but are capable of inflicting painful bites on humans.
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