Aquatic Ethereal Beauty

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Juvenile Cowfish

Photograph by Chris Newbert, Minden Pictures

A photographer's strobe gives a violet sheen to this translucent juvenile roundbelly cowfish off the coast of Kona, Hawaii. Also known as the transparent boxfish, the roundbelly cowfish has two short horns in front of its eyes.

Stunned by the beauty of these photographs of translucent undersea creatures by National Geographic, I would like to share a few of my favorites.

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Pelagic Octopus

Photograph by Chris Newbert, Minden Pictures

A pelagic, or open-ocean, octopus gives off a neon glow in Hawaii. Most species of octopus have no internal skeleton, unlike other cephalopods.


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Jellyfish, Antarctica

Photograph by Ingo Arndt, Minden Pictures

A tiny jellyfish, with tentacles folded and its orange central mass visible through its transparent body, drifts in the waters of Antarctica's Weddell Sea.

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Sea Butterfly Snail

Photograph by Ingo Arndt, Minden Pictures

Tiny marine snails known as sea butterflies take many forms, including heart-shaped, such as this species in Antarctica's Weddell Sea.

The juvenile cowfish reminds me of "Blinky" from Cisco's Human Network commercial, a wonderful demonstration of teaching and learning through wonderment and curiosity - a spark that each of us should nurture, regardless of age.

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From National Geographic's new Translucent Creatures photo gallery: A hydromedusa spreads its luminescent tentacles in the Weddell Sea near Antarctica. Photograph by Ingo Arndt/Minden Pictures. This medusa is like totally coming at me like a spider monkey with those nunchuk tentacles. Meet some of…
Photo Credit: Photograph by Ingo Arndt, Minden Pictures Looking rather like an alien from a Star Trek episode, this sea butterfly snail is just one of many marine animals found in a photo gallery of translucent marine life on the National Geographic website. However the strangest cartoon-like fish…
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Last week's Friday Cephalopod actually has an interesting story behind it. It was taken from a paper that describes the evolutionary radiation of deep-sea cephalopods. First, a little background in geological history. Antarctica is a special case, in which a major shift in its climate occurred in…

they are amazing, both as photographic artwork and as windows on a world we rarely see.

Oh My Myers!

By Puseaus O (not verified) on 10 Mar 2011 #permalink

Cool pics...thanks....

By Wayne Williamson (not verified) on 14 Mar 2011 #permalink