Amazing View of a Bat Star’s Stomach

During a recent visit to the Monterey Bay Aquarium I was treated to the remarkable sight of a bat star’s (Asterina miniata) stomach in action! On display in the Deep Reefs tank, the star had used its tube feet to pick up a small silver bait fish leftover from a…

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What’s all that pink stuff?

The color pink abounds in the tidepools. Much of it is coralline algae, a type of red algae that flourishes in marine environments around the world. Coralline algae gets its name and rock-hard texture from calcareous deposits in its cells. Having this hard shell makes it an unappetizing food for…

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Tug-of-War with an Octopus!

Volunteer naturalist Linda Barre reports: The other day, the high school students I was leading on a tidepool tour found a red octopus in a surge channel. It slid under a rock to hide. I gently put the tip of my bamboo chopstick pointer near where the octopus vanished to…

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