tags: National Geographic, Vanuatu, cockle, biodiversity, image of the day
Image: Delphine Brabant, MNHN.
My friends at National Geographic have provided permission for me to share some of the images from the recent discovery of a huge number of new species on and around the south Pacific island of Vanuatu.
Tiny Tropical Island Yields a Wealth of Species
A cockle's large, muscular foot juts through an opening in the mantle supporting its shell.
The cockle bends and straightens the foot to jump away from predators in its shallow-water ocean habitat off the island of Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu. The cockle uses the two small holes in its shell to pump and release seawater filtered through its gills.
Life Science
Humanities & Social Science
Comments
Singing cockles and mussels, alive alive-o! These are not only beautiful organisms, they are beautifully photographed.
Posted by: Trin Tragula | December 17, 2008 3:36 PM