Antarctic Echinoderms! Courtesy of the British Antarctic Survey

The British Antarctic Survey has recently put out a spread of cool Antarctic invertebrate images. These include this "sea pig" (a sea cucumber, Family Elpidiidae- probably related to the deep-sea Scotoplanes)

(photos by BAS photographer Peter Bucktrout)

What they are calling Gorgonocephalus, (an ophiuroid) apparently perched on an octocoral...

(photos by BAS photographer Peter Bucktrout)

The ubiquitous Antarctic crinoid Promachocrinus, which may be composed of a cryptic species complex

(photos by BAS photographer Peter Bucktrout)

....and this isnt an echinoderm (its an Antarctic amphipod)..but damn. Its cool, isn't it?

(photos by BAS photographer Peter Bucktrout)

Holiday Echinoblog! Plush/Fuzzy EchinoSculpture at Cal Academy in San Francisco!!

Whenever I get to visit San Francisco, I make a point to stop by the Invertebrate Zoology Department at the California Academy of Sciences. THE Natural History Museum in the Bay Area!

Where else can you find giant 2 foot long models of beach-hopping amphipods wearing Santa hats!???

This visit, I've been visiting my former Masters advisor Rich Mooi and met his very talented and creative students who had created a pair of holiday-themed sea urchin art/plush/fuzzy echinoSculpture!!

Kristin Vollrath, who works on Paleozoic sea urchins served up this Christmas-colored Faux cidaroid...
Where the indubitable Ms. Kelly Walsh, who is working on miniaturized sea urchins, created this wonderous purple plush Strongylocentrotus purpuratus!!
Side by side....
Kelly gets extra points for having this unique nautaloid-ammonite plushie!

Happy Holidays from the Echinoblog!!

A tease....

This is something that I'm working on...but I can't tell you what it is!.....yet! I just thought the image was interesting enough to post as-is!

Enjoy!