I Heart Sharks

Even the really frickin' scary ones:




TOKYO, Japan (Reuters) -- A species of shark rarely seen alive because its natural habitat is about 2,000 feet under the sea was captured on film by staff at a Japanese marine park this week.

The Awashima Marine Park in Shizuoka, south of Tokyo, was alerted by a fisherman at a nearby port on Sunday that he had spotted an odd-looking eel-like creature with a mouthful of needle-sharp teeth.

Marine park staff caught the 5 foot (1.6 meter) long creature, which they identified as a female frilled shark, sometimes referred to as a "living fossil" because it is a primitive species that has changed little since prehistoric times. (Watch divers swim with bizarre, ailing shark )

The shark appeared to be in poor condition when park staff moved it to a seawater pool where they filmed it swimming and opening its jaws. (Photo gallery: More pictures of this odd creature of the deep)

"We believe moving pictures of a live specimen are extremely rare," said an official at the park. "They live between 1,968 and 3,280 feet (600 and 1,000 meters) under the water, which is deeper than humans can go."

"We think it may have come close to the surface because it was sick, or else it was weakened because it was in shallow waters," the official said.

The shark died a few hours after being caught.

Frilled sharks, which feed on other sharks and sea creatures, are sometimes caught in the nets of trawlers but are rarely seen alive.

Copyright 2007 Reuters. All rights reserved.This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Animal Story 1

Scientists: Sea Squirts Invading LI Sound


GROTON, Conn. -- A blob-like creature is invading Long Island Sound and posing a threat to its lobsters and other shellfish, University of Connecticut scientists say.

The researchers say they have found colonies of invasive sea squirts, blob-shaped animals that reproduce easily, on the floor of the sound.

They believe this variety of sea squirt, known as didemnum, arrived on the hulls of ships from Asia. They have no known predators.

"This thing has the potential for causing significant economic impact when it attaches to the floor of the Sound, where it blankets and suffocates shellfish and lobsters,'' said Ivar Babb, director of UConn's Undersea Research Center at Avery Point in Groton.

The animals range in color from a creamy translucent pearl to olive or tan. In Japan, there are some red species.

"This thing is ugly,'' Babb said. "It has no socially redeeming virtues.''

They cannot break the colonies apart, Babb said. Like sea stars that become damaged, they can grow replacement parts. Splitting one sea squirt in half doesn't kill it; it only creates two of the plankton-eating creatures.

If the scientists don't find bigger quantities of the blob-like creature, they might use chlorine or vinegar to kill it. First, however, they plan to study the effect those substances might have on other marine life native to the Sound.

Information from: Connecticut Post, http://www.connpost.com

I lost the squirts!!!!! But here they are. All gathered in one area, blanketing one of the new axis of evil places. Good job, squirts. Good job!!!!

A few points about this story:

1. No known predators, you say? So...in my next life, my choices have expanded on what I would like to be - a crocodile, shark or sea squirt.

2. Oooo, being chopped into pieces only creates more of us! That's one awesome creature. And so what if the trade off is that it's one ugly beast? Whatever.

3. It's blanketing LI, people! Muwahahahaha. I knew that place was evil.

4. I don't like LI but I do like shellfish... well, can't have something for nothing, I guess. It's for the greater good.

5. There's a red species in Japan. I am not so not surprised.

Sharks

Everyone who knows me, knows that I love sharks. I would not love to be in the water with a shark but this shark is on my list of awesome:



In this March 2006 photo provided by Johnson Communications, Capt. Mike Delph, left, and Dr. Martin Arostegui, right, of Coral Gables, Fla. hold a 385-pound lemon shark caught in early March near the Marquesas Keys, west of Key West, Fla. Arostegui, a doctor with a slew of world fishing records added another one to his collection when he caught the 385-pound lemon shark on fly tackle, the International Game Fish Association said Tuesday, May 16, 2006. (AP Photo/Johnson Communications)