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Critter of the Month

Critter of the Month gives a peek into the lives of Puget Sound’s least-known inhabitants – mud-dwelling invertebrates collected by the Marine Sediment Monitoring Team. Each month we feature a different species or group, giving information on identification, habitat, and life history.
Critter of the Month gives a peek into the lives of Puget Sound’s least-known inhabitants – mud-dwelling invertebrates collected by the Marine Sediment Monitoring Team. Each month we feature a different species or group, giving information on identification, habitat, and life history.

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Get winterized with the frost-spot corambe
The frost-spot corambe is a beautiful sea slug with frosty white speckles that seem to glow as if it just swallowed a set of twinkly lights.
Science
Having a bad hair day? The hair worms can relate
The hair worms belong to a family of polychaetes called Cirratulidae, and their tangled hairs are actually branchiae, external gills that occur in pairs along their bodies.
Science
Sound-to-table? The sweet potato sea cucumber is a produce impersonator
With its smooth, plump body, this month’s critter bears a resemblance to items you might find in a grocery store. Meet Molpadia intermedia, the Sweet Potato Sea Cucumber.
Science
Pea crabs, the ultimate unwelcome houseguests
Pea crabs are very tiny. They can be found inside oysters, marine worms, or — especially in the Pacific Northwest —in ghost shrimp burrows.
Science
Riddle me this: What is a glistenworm?
The glistenworm is a shell-less, footless mollusk that burrows into marine sediments by digging with the shield around its mouth.
Science
Making a stink: the Pacific stinkworm
When disturbed, Travisia pupa, the stinkworm, as its name suggests, gives off a pungent odor similar to rotting garlic.
Science
Shifting sands: The sand star is born to run
If you’ve ever been to an aquarium or explored a tide pool, then this Critter of the Month is no stranger to you!
Science
The seed shrimp are more than meets the eye
This month we bring you an entire group of nifty little critters collectively known as the ostracods, or seed shrimp.
Science
The British Columbian Doto: Just another Northwest slug?
The Doto is a species of sea slug, also known as a nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod in the family Dotidae.
Science
Where there’s a quill, there’s a way: The slender sea pen
This month's critter looks a lot like an old fashioned-feather quill pen and is fittingly named Stylatula elongata, the sea pen.
Science

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