WILDLIFE OF THE WEEK
The Barrel Amphipod
I received a well-deserved slap on the wrist last week for a bit of accidental chauvinism on my part. Perhaps you hadn’t noticed either, but every single one of my "Wildlife of the Week” choices have been terrestrial plants, animals, or fungi. Of course, since many of these come off-the-cuff from my time outdoors as a researcher, nature-guide, professor, and frequent outdoor-ambler in North Georgia, I don’t have the opportunity of meeting many marine species in my day-to-day. Nonetheless, it’s important to remember that the origins of life—that is, all of our origins—are in the world’s oceans, and a monstrous chunk (perhaps more than half!) of all species on Earth live in the ocean, and that’s certainly worth mentioning. Also important (for me!), most species in our oceans have such bizarre and strikingly different lifestyles from us, they make for excellently mind-bending content.
So without further ado, this week’s Gulo in Nature newsletter feature: the Barrel amphipod. Amphipods are slender, long-bodied crustaceans (related to crabs and shrimp) that live throughout the world’s oceans and beaches, with some species being massively numerous in freshwater environments as well. Like any group containing over 10,000 species, you might expect some real oddballs in the mix, and the barrel amphipod (Phronima sp.) delivers. And I mean, really delivers. Phronima are largely see-through, spidery-looking beasties that live suspended deep in the water column of the ocean, never touching the surface nor bottom. Using well-developed eyes, female Phronima seek out bioluminescent salps (weird, often tubelike floating animals that filter food from the water) and attack them with powerful forelimbs.
Once she has subdued the salp (which is as transparent as she is!) the female Phronima eats the inside of its barrel-shaped body, then crawls inside its outer shell, using that as protection from predators and a safe place to lay her own eggs. She then sets sail in the water column carrying this barrel-shaped shield around her, and using her rear legs to swim!
Reading up on these strange beasts, I have seen frequent references to their resemblance to xenomorphs from the movie Alien and suggestions that they were an inspiration for the monster in the film. Whether or not that’s true, I think Phronima deserves some attention as a great example of just how bizarre the natural world can be.
FEATURED BLOG POST
This post from January 2024 has come up often during Winter nature walks, where people have asked me why, in the midst of an otherwise brown and leafless forest, certain plants stand out with green leaves in their full splendor. Introducing readers to the “usual suspects” of plants that stay stubbornly green in Winter, I enjoyed thinking about the reasons why these different species keep their lively colors. I’ve had the privilege of frequently meeting 9 plants covered in this week’s featured blog post while hiking in both the Western and Eastern U.S., as well as Southern and Eastern Europe. Inside, you’ll find some basic info on these plants and where to find them, as well as some gorgeous photographs from my past encounters.
This past weekend, during a birdwatching trip, I watched an Eastern bluebird gobble down white berries from a bright green, leafy American mistletoe that was perched in the bare brown branches of an old water oak. I was reminded of the cultural impact of mistletoes, their associations in old European beliefs around fertility and longevity, and thought about how their defiant colors are certainly would envying in the dead emptiness of Winter. I hope reading this short article can give you some of that feeling as we head slowly toward Spring!
NATURALIST WORD OF THE WEEK
Ommatidium (n.) - A singular unit of an arthropod’s (for example insect, spider, or crab) compound eye. In other words, a “facet” of their multifaceted eye. Hundreds to thousands of ommatidia make up the compound eyes of highly visual invertebrates, for example dragonflies and sphinx moths, both highly visual and rapid-moving insects, may have up to 30,000 of them per “eye”!
Want more Gulo in Nature?
▶ Join the Patreon to get your nature questions answered, have personalized consultations, and more!
▶ Buy Charles a coffee to say thanks and keep the nature content coming!
▶ Have a cool recent nature sighting? A burning question? Contact Gulo in Nature and let us know!
▶ Subscribe if you were forwarded this email and want to stay up to date with Gulo in Nature.