The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1952-05-24
SEA
SECRETS

"a Va q oAiOA AACA0h1N AtAL esAAOH1
or sand crab, 0cypode Africans,
can move over the sand as quick
IN as a man can run. These crabs
burrow above the high-tide mark
burrow above the high-tide mark a.
long the beaches of Fla, remain
ing inside during the daylight hours
and coming out to feed at night.
AS the name indicates, the ghost
crab is nearly pure white or pale
vellowish in color with large black
eyes. Anyone who drives a car
along the beach at night will usual
" see large numbers of these
crabs as they scurry over the sand
in the glare of the headlights.
O. Why does a blowfish swell up
when caught?
A. Fishes of the family Tetra-
dontidae, commonly called blow
fish, swellfish, or ballonfish, are
known for their habit of filling
themselves with water or air when
captured. In this condition the
body shape changes from oval or
eIongate to nearly spherical. Since
the Tetradonts are usually slow
swimming fish. il appears that this
habit of initiating themselves serves
to make them too large to swallow,
should they be captured by lar
ger fish. The water is not taker
directly into the stomach as IT APP
pears. but rather through the
mouth into an auxiliary pouch Oc-
cupying INST of the ventral sur
face.
@. What is 'sea spider?
A. This is an odd, mitelike crea-
ture known as a Pycnogonid MOI
related clsely to the true spiders
although belonging TO the same
Class. Arachnoida. that the spiders
do. Most Pycnogonids have eight
irregularly- jointed legs. prolong-
ed, spoutlige mouth. while the body
itself is so small that extensions Of
the digestive canal are found in the
upper portion of the legs. The
greater number of PycnogonldS are
quite small, though some deep-sea
forms whose pictures have been
taken with deep water flash ca
mera, are a foot or more in length.
@. Which jellyfish sting?
A. A great number of them do to
a great or lesser extent. The ones
that sting the most violently To-
cally at least. belong to the Faml-
ly Pelagidae. One of these, Dac-
tylometra quinquecirrha, IS found
in large numbers in Tampa Bay
during the summer months. This
iellyfish is particularly beautiful,
being marked with light brown
streaks and having fringe of long.
pink singing tentacleS, The large
moon jellyfish (Auralia) quite a
hnndant in the Miami area also
gtings, though not SO strongly
This is very large transparent
jellyfish recognized by the -four
leaf clover" design Of white circles
near the central part of the disk.
The famous Portuguese man of-War
(PhySalia) which stings SO severe
~ lis not a iellyfish. but different
sort of invertebrate known as a
siphonophore Treatment foT Jelly
fish Stings consists of ammonia
followed by ice pack in mere Sc.
we're eases.
@. If there is no light in the deep
sea, how are the fishes there able
10 swim?
A. Many deep sea fishes are
completely blind. and these are u>
ually provided with long taclle Fl.
lamentS. sensitive skins. etc. which
enable them to progress by utilizing
4 highly developed sense Of touch
Some forms on the other hand
have eyes that are enormously de
veloped. hence apparently highly
sensitive To the various animal
lights produced by other deep sea
fishes and invertebrates. Although
no sunlight penetrates 20 the abyss
NAL depths. this world is By 10
means a iightleSs one. Some deep
sea angler fishes in fact carry a
lighted lure ON the end al a NOV
able tentaele Ia order 10 enuce
their prey within Selziug distance.
Q. Why are some channel mark
erS painted red while others are
black
A. This is 10 show which side
Of the channel they are on For
instance, as you travel SoulhW srJ
along the lntrseoasgal Watcra ay.
the red markers are an thc right
and the black one on the lcr $50
ms northWard. the opposite is jruc
AS a further aid 80 idcntllca lpp
the red marker buoys have c1orz
ated tops and are called -our
bouys. while the black one> art
hat-topped ard are called can
hueys Il should be remembered
however. that when en,cuae a has.
hor from the open sea. }Hc re-
markers are always ;o IRE .rr
hence the mariner rule al lea
right returning
Q. Do some fishes change ,u.rs