Thanks to Hurricane Henri, NESS had an amazing opportunity to view some unique critters in real life!

Bottle Nose Dolphins

“Common bottlenose dolphins and other dolphins are thought to be some of the smartest animals on the planet, challenging the great apes (chimps and gorillas) for the top spot. They are also extremely curious and often approach people to investigate. Their intelligence is likely both a result of and a driver of their complex social structures. They generally live in small groups and organize complex, group behaviors when mating and hunting. Their preferred prey includes small, schooling fishes and squids.”

Portuguese Man O’War

“The Portuguese man o’ war is a highly venomous open ocean predator that superficially resembles a jellyfish but is actually a siphonophore. Each man o’ war is actually a colony of several small individual organisms that each have a specialized job and are so closely intertwined that they cannot survive alone. In this manner, the larger colony consists of a float that keeps the colony at the sea surface, a series of long tentacles that are covered with stinging cells, a rudimentary digestive system, and a simple reproductive system. It uses its feeding tentacles to sting and paralyze small fishes, pelagic crustaceans, and other invertebrates. The feeding tentacles may be up to 160 feet (50 m) long in some individuals! These tentacles deliver a powerful sting and are also used for defense against predation.”

Nudibranch

“Nudibranchs are a group of sea slugs that have magnificent bright colors and are known around the world for that. There are really few restrictions to what color these creatures can have. Mostly they are natives to more tropical waters but actually, 178 species have been described in Scandinavian waters.”

Oceana: Protecting the World’s Oceans, http://oceana.org.