8 Mar 2011Creature Feature: Tadpole ShrimpJust add water: Tadpole shrimp Triops australiensis (Spencer & Hall, 1895)Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
8 Feb 2011Creature Feature: Zebra Mantis ShrimpAll seeing, all knowing: the Zebra Mantis Shrimp Lysiosquillina maculata (Fabricius, 1793)Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
8 Feb 2011Creature Feature: Peacock Mantis ShrimpFight Club: the Peacock Mantis Shrimp Odontodactylus scyllarus (Linneaus, 1758) Mantis Shrimp belong to a group of crustaceans, called stomatopods, only distantly related to shrimps and prawns you would normally see on your dinner plate. They get their common name from the enlarged second limb, referred to as the claw, which is very reminiscent of the front legs of the praying mantis. Much like the praying mantis in your back garden, mantis shrimp also use these limbs for capturing prey, with which they launch lightning fast attacks. Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
26 Nov 2010Creature Feature: Giant Marine SlaterWestern Australia’s Giant Marine Slater, Bathynomus pelor Bruce, 1986Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
5 Nov 2010Creature Feature: long-eyed swimmer crabPodophthalmus vigil (Fabricius, 1798), the long-eyed swimmer crab. There are approximately 100 species of swimming or paddle crabs in Australian waters, the most familiar being the tasty blue swimmer and mud crabs. The remarkable long-eyed swimmer crab is easily identified by its enormously long eye stalks – a feature not seen in any other species of Australian swimming crab. The long-eyed swimmer crab is found in shallow sandy or muddy areas in tropical regions of the Indo-Pacific, having been found from the Red Sea, South Africa to Japan and Hawaii.Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
26 Oct 2010Marine Life of the Kimberley Region - Day 7When the Western Australian Museum goes exploring and cataloguing the remote waters of the Kimberley region, you can be with us in real time. The ninth video in this series documents the seventh day of the research expedition. In this video Andrew Hosie talks about a unique barnacle which has invaded a blue swimmer crab and is living off the crab's blood supply. Read more Video Danny Murphy
30 Sep 2010Creature Feature - The Striated Hermit CrabThe Striated Hermit Crab, Dardanus arrosor (Herbst, 1796); or Lonesome No More!Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
30 Sep 2010Darwin's animals: BarnaclesDiana Jones Executive Director, Collection and Content Development Charles Darwin formulated his ideas of evolution through his study of barnacles. Today we are living in the Age of Barnacles. They occur from estuaries to the deepest depths of the ocean. Join Diana Jones as she discusses the diverse world of Darwin's "beloved barnacles", their beauty, the potential threat to their habitats, and their uses in forensic medicine, dentistry and the space industry. Read more Video Western Australian Museum
6 Sep 2010Artificial reefs – are they suitable habitats for fish?Sue Morrison Acting Curator, Aquatic Zoology Fish monitoring of the decommissioned HMAS Swan artificial reef in Dunsborough examines whether an ex-naval ship is a suitable alternative habitat for local fishes. Read more Video Western Australian Museum
31 Aug 2010Creature Feature: The Japanese Shame-Faced CrabThe Japanese Shame-Faced Crab, Calappa japonica Ortmann, 1892. The Japanese shame-faced crab was originally discovered in Tokyo Bay, Japan but has since been found as far away as Africa and can be found in depths up to ~250 m. This spectacular red and yellow crab was first reported in Western Australia only as recently as 1989 when crayfishers, off Rottnest Island, caught an unfortunate specimen in a craypot. The specimen in the photos was collected this year, near Ningaloo reef in 230 m.Read more Blog entry Western Australian Museum
23 Aug 2010Collecting marine life in the KimberleyClay Bryce Senior Project Officer, Aquatic Zoology Since 1976 the WA Museum has been investigating the marine fauna in the Kimberley creating an immense body of marine biodiversity knowledge for the region. This research has continued to the present day. Join Clay Bryce on a journey that will take you from historic biological collecting practices through to today's modern methods. And all this done in the sometimes hair-raising territory of sharks and crocodiles! Read more Video Western Australian Museum
Aquatic Zoology blogsDepartmental resources | Updated 1 decade agoThe Aquatic Zoology department runs a blog cataloguing important and unusual species found in Western Australia. Our blogs focus on Crustaceans and Fish. More information