Michael Middlebrooks

YouTube video by Todd Snider - Topic Enjoy Yourself

Sad to learn that Todd Snider, one of my very favorite folk singers, died last week. I am grateful I got to see him play several times. I found out from an email saying that the concert I bought tickets for had been cancelled...

Here's my favorite recording of his: youtu.be/3RWAuSdQWoM?...

Exciting! I am teaching about this very topic tomorrow morning. I guess I should read this paper tonight!

A light brown Nemertean ribbon worm.

A light brown Nemertean ribbon worm.

Finally, my student, Lea Hinsley, got these great photos of a Nemertean, aka ribbon worm. #Nemertea

The amphipod Cerapas sp. poking out of its tube.

The amphipod Cerapas sp. poking out of its tube.

Now we have the tube dwelling amphipod crustacean Cerapus sp. #amphipod

Here is a short video clip of the sea spider.

A pycnogonid, aka sea spider. This one has some red stripes on the legs and is carrying eggs.

A pycnogonid, aka sea spider. This one has some red stripes on the legs and is carrying eggs.

One of my favorite animals to find in the hydroids are Pycnogonids, aka, sea spiders. We had a real treat today because we found one carrying eggs. In sea spiders the males carry the eggs.

#invertebrates #pycnogonida

These are from a wild collection. I do run field trips for my lab, but the hydroids live a little too far away for us to visit during a lab period. (This is also a bit of a double dip for me because some of my students have a research project with one of the nudibranchs).

A brittle star with six arms. Half of the arms are very small because they are regenerating. The arms have brown stripes.

A brittle star with six arms. Half of the arms are very small because they are regenerating. The arms have brown stripes.

Next up a six armed brittle star! This one is in the process of regenerating half of its arms. Does anyone know the ID? I would love to figure out this one.

My research microscope needs repairs, so I am trying out some alternative methods for my photos. This isn't my best work, but I am having fun with it and these critters are too cool not to share.

The nudibranch sea slug Doto chica. The slug is orange with white grape-like clusters of cerata down the body.

The nudibranch sea slug Dondice jupiteriensis. The slug has long white oral tentacles and a yellow line down the head. The cerata are brown with white tips.

Today in my Invertebrate Zoology course we are doing one of my all time favorite labs where we search through hydroid colonies to find macroinvertebrates. Here are some of my favorite finds from today!

First two hydroid feeding nudibranchs! IDs in alt text.

#invertebrates #marinebiology #sluglife

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#academicsky

What a pile! You should definitely keep adding to it.

The springtails are also quite interesting!

Spiders and Springtails Underwater …what’s next? - UF/IFAS Extension Franklin County Who would ever imagine spiders living underwater on an oyster reef? Believe it or not, they do. The tremendous productivity of our Gulf coastal waters has made them important to humans throughout hist...

Some cool info about them here: blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/franklinco/2...

I am think these are Paratheuma insulana and they feed on tiny springtails that also live on the oyster.

A marine spider, Paratheuma insulana, on an oyster shell. The spider is brown with some darker brown stripes. The oyster shell is mostly white with some dirty yellow/brown edges.

A marine spider, Paratheuma insulana, on an oyster shell. The spider is brown with some darker brown stripes.

We found oyster spiders today during my oyster lab field trip for my Invertebrate Zoology class! These are marine spiders! They have special setae (hairs) that trap air and let them live underwater. #invertebrates #spider

That does sound like a challenging one. I definitely prefer lectures with lots of fun images. Good luck!

Don't do it! What's the lecture?

Thank you!

An orange cladobranch nudibranch with white tips on rhinophores and tentacles. The slug has a white stripe on the body and some blue dots at the tip of the cerata. It is sitting on an orange sponge.

A dorid nudibranch sea slug. The slug has a cream yellow mantle skirt with a thin black edge. The foot is white. The gills, center of the slug and rhinophores are orange. There is a wavy black line around the orange part of the center of the slug's body.

A very colorful dorid nudibranch. The slug has a brown body with orange stripes. The gills and rhinophores are bright orange. There are also some yellow and blue areas around the head and tail.

An adorable white dorid nudibranch. The slug has black rhinophores and yellow spots that vary in size on the dorsal part of the body. The gills are white with black trim.

Some lovely nudibranchs for #seaslugday. These photos are from this summer when I was scuba diving in Komodo National Park, Indonesia. #invertebrates 🦑

Okay, I knew about the carcinoecium. But, I did know it evolved more than once! Convergent evolution is so cool!

Since sea hares are hermaphrodites this is also the ideal female body. This is the ideal body.

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#academicsky

Fantastic photo! I love it!

That is surprising. I was able to get one at CVS in Florida, I am honestly shocked that's happening in Seattle.

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Fantastic footage! I am going to have to show this to my Invertebrate Zoology class when we get to Echinoderms.

Sports are supposed to be fun. Nothing about spending time with someone who sends that e-mail sounds fun.

Those rhinophore are in perfect focus. Excellent photo, I love it!