Wednesday, February 07, 2007

More on Ocian LIfe

  • Largest Sea Star: Evasterias echinosomo96 cm (37.79 inches) in diameter, weight 5 kg (11 pounds), collected in the North Pacific
  • Smallest Sea Star: Leptychaster propinquus1.83 cm (0.72 inches) total diameter
  • Deepest Sea Star: Eremicaster tenebrariusCollected in 7,630 meters (25,032 feet)
  • Fastest Sea Star: Sun Star, Pycnopodia helianthoides75 cm per minute (0.027 miles per hour)
  • Largest Sea Urchin: Sperosoma giganteumTest diameter of 38 cm (13 inches)
  • Smallest Sea Urchin: Echinocyamus scaberTest diameter of 5.5 mm (0.21 inches)
  • Deepest Sea Urchin: Unidentified specimentaken from 7,250 meters (23,786 feet) near Indonesia in 1951
  • Largest Sea Cucumber: Members of he genus Stichopus have been measured up to 1.3 meters (40 inches) in length and 20 cm (8 inches) in diameter
  • Smallest Sea Cucumber: Rhabdomolgus ruber, found in the North Sea10 mm (0.39 inches) in length
  • Deepest Sea Cucumber: Unidentified specimen taken from the Philippine trench in 1951 in 10,190 meters (33,431 feet)
  • Largest Crinoid: Helimoetra glacialis, found in the Northeast Pacific90 cm (36 inches) in diameter
  • Smallest Crinoid: Unidentified species with a diameter of 3 cm (1.18 inches)
  • Deepest Crinoid: Unidentified specimen taken from the Kermadec Trench in 1951 in 8,210 meters (26,935 feet)
  • Largest Crustacean: Giant spider crab Macrocheira kaempferiIndividuals can measure 12-14 inches across the body, with a claw span of 8-9 feet. There is a report of a crab weighing 14 pounds with a claw span of 12 feet.
  • Smallest CrabPea crabs in the family Pinnotheridae are about .25 inches across the shell
  • Heaviest Crustacean: Atlantic Lobster Homarus americanusSeveral records exist of individuals that weighed over 20 pounds. The record, however goes to a lobster weighing 42 pounds, 7 ounces, which was caught in 1934 and nicknamed "Mike".
  • Heaviest Mollusc (and heaviest invertebrate): The giant squid (Architeuthis sp.)The largest giant squid ever recorded (Architeuthis princeps) was captured in 1878. One of the "arms" (probably a tentacle) measured 35 feet long. It is estimated that the animal weighed in the neighbourhood of 4000 pounds.
  • Largest Clams: Tridacna gigas, with a length of 137cm, as reported by Rosewater, J. 1965. The family Tridacnidae in the Indo-Pacific. Indo-Pacific Mollusca 1: 347-396. Tridacna derasa, found on coral reefs in the South Pacific. One was collected on the Great Barrier Reef in 1917 that measured 49 inches by 29 inches, and weighed 579.5 pounds.
  • Largest Gastropod: Syrinx aruanus, the trumpet or baler conch found off the coast of Australia. In 1979, a 40 pound animal was found with a shell that measured 30.4 inches in length and 39.75 inches in girth.
  • Largest Jellyfish: Cyanea arctica, found in the North AtlanticSpecimens have been measured up to 7 feet 6 inches across the bell with a tentacle of 120 feet.
  • Largest Sponge: Xestospongia muta, the barrel sponge, found in tropical coastal waters. Some individuals in the Caribbean measure 6-8 feet tall, and 6-8 feet across. It should be noted, however, that some species of encrusting sponge can cover a very large area.
  • Largest Seaweed: Macrocystis pyrifera, a brown algae called the giant kelp. The longest recorded length is 54 metres long! M. pyrifera is the type of kelp that makes up the majority of the giant kelp forests off the California coast.
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