Phronima sedentaria in the bell it made from its prey, by Christian Sardet and Sarif Mirshak
Life among the ghouls and goblins of Halloween season may be harrowing but it’s no better in the watery world of our ocean’s microscopic plankton. Consider the Phronima sedentaria, a transparent plankton species whose carnivorous and parasitizing are spooky.
Phronima sedentaria is a type of hyperiid amphipod, or small crustacean, that preys on gelatinous plankton, such as salps. The free-floating organism is equipped with claw-like appendages that slice open its victims, enabling the creature to crawl in and devour the soft tissues from the inside out. It then uses the leftover bits of the prey’s body to build a gelatinous protective home, or barrel, where females can deposit their young.
Check out more about this spooky ocean creature and its planktonic brethren in the excellent book Plankton: Wonders of the Drifting World.
Oceanwire 