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Marine Miniatures

A dipperful of seawater reveals an amazing hodgepodge of microfauna, from gelatinous shape-shifters to a baby octopus.

/galleries/bcove/assets/c2e62559-6152-45b6-b687-d569f63589bb.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/3677eeb9-c0bb-42d4-a84d-fad175f08b83.jpg Glaucus nudibranch preys on toxic Portuguese men-of-war, appropriating their stinging cells for its own defense. Camouflaged in blue and silver, this sea slug was caught off Hawaii but drifts in mild waters worldwide. ]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094078 /galleries/bcove/assets/46529842-f22a-4b2f-9dcc-19e3c1267bcd.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/f02673c9-5203-4662-98f4-5e77d7a41e75.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094085 /galleries/bcove/assets/1c8953ca-26b6-4cf4-b0bd-e99ba5cfbfb0.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/aaf93f31-11a4-4a0c-ac3c-e5452b2513c6.jpg Neocalanus robustior (top), shares surface waters near Hawaii with an adult polychaete worm in the family Alciopidae, whose members are known for their very large eyes and the black dots on their sides. The worm swims by paddling its footlike parapodia and hunts by sight.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094102 /galleries/bcove/assets/4af5f674-1bfc-46ab-a2a9-59f6201a7306.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/99bd43a8-c6f9-495d-86bd-3c0c38cf2f27.jpg Entomacrodus species) is transparent and nearly colorless beneath the photographer’s lights. Although these fish inhabit offshore Hawaiian surface waters during their early days, as adults they live in shallow, surf-beaten tide pools along rocky shores.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094104 /galleries/bcove/assets/c59b8634-1de7-4037-ac90-e30361265a67.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/c2cc7c22-c033-456b-a455-b07e13b1d04f.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094076 /galleries/bcove/assets/b9fdc16d-067f-4e9d-af07-8e2f5f589698.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/4a4ccd2b-4cdb-48b1-b92b-e5bfc5bbac58.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094080 /galleries/bcove/assets/399eafca-118a-43a6-a03e-9a96278f268c.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/ceea9d95-a75b-4337-960f-c78a45ff0cef.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094079 /galleries/bcove/assets/3d2b2473-0f7f-41a5-a108-2db894c36baa.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/2d9b7326-4757-498b-a152-f421eb9432a5.jpg (Coryphaena hippurus) and elsewhere as the common dolphinfish will grow up into a highly prized game fish that is sometimes seen leaping from the water like a porpoise. The larvae are commonly found within debris lines—places where surface currents converge and animals, debris, and foam accumulate.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094105 /galleries/bcove/assets/53ce64c3-b25c-4c4f-ada8-6a3fc703b1f9.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/2d9d241c-4b87-40ec-b50c-37a852005a15.jpg Cheilopogon species) will one day propel its body out of the water and glide over the sea surface in bursts of speed. For now it darts through the water column, where survival is never guaranteed. ]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094106 /galleries/bcove/assets/0d6b684c-657b-42cc-9c98-47b285dade16.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/4611fc11-0115-4d2c-bf2a-155d272e6152.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094081 /galleries/bcove/assets/a26dac6c-158c-4b12-84e0-ae807a7065d4.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/47d0f2c9-cbe5-404b-9a32-8f51ed874f51.jpg Firoloida desmaresti is actually a predatory snail that preys on other soft-bodied marine animals. Heteropod means “different foot” and refers to the fan-shaped paddle under the body and the flattened tail, both used to push the animal through the water.]]> http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094108 /galleries/bcove/assets/216871cb-b693-4abf-b292-b7ab22e4b6de.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/04920fa5-f7c4-4579-b2b1-2729b9bf7aa0.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094077 /galleries/bcove/assets/0af925ea-1713-415e-af75-fbd0b4ee11c5.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/6106d1c2-8e78-41cc-899a-526cb2846250.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094859 /galleries/bcove/assets/2ee3258e-a747-47ab-b4ad-bd93fbb8aa25.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/8c9587d6-d790-474f-9fff-be033970577a.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094083 /galleries/bcove/assets/1d72ef01-35c7-4c49-a599-2b69fe10f846.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/5cb86b75-99e3-42b7-a7ae-0dfbf16a436e.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094084 /galleries/bcove/assets/32525f5a-079d-4564-8a4c-0a9a69f5f721.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/deb87bdb-d717-498a-bcca-092012277d30.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094082 /galleries/bcove/assets/676e5ab9-b2dd-4d0b-87cb-4c72d05b25f8.jpg /galleries/bcove/assets/627fc6a3-a18b-400d-b212-9ba7ede3b0e6.jpg http://pictopia.com/perl/ptp/natgeo?photo_name=1094075