Life Below
A Mussel’s Byssal Threads Are an Attachment, Not a Root System
Look closely at the threads that attach a mussel to a surface without mistaking them for roots or pulling the animal loose.
Follow the water
Life Below
Meet the habitats and living systems beneath coastal waters.
Life Below
A Shark’s Gills and a Dolphin’s Blowhole Reveal Different Ways to Breathe
Compare a dolphin’s air breathing with a shark’s gills, and keep a surface sighting separate from conclusions about an unseen animal.
Life Below
A Marine Species Sign Can Teach You Which Feature to Look For
A species panel often contains more than a name and an attractive picture. Its most useful detail may be a feature that helps you look more carefully…
Life Below
An Aquarium Window Shows a Selected View of an Underwater Habitat
An aquarium display can make marine life wonderfully visible, but its window also sets the limits of what visitors see. Reading the exhibit label alongside…
Life Below
A Hermit Crab’s Shell Has a Previous Owner
A moving shell can briefly look like a snail until legs emerge from the opening. A hermit crab changes the story of the shell: the shelter was made by…
Life Below
The Seahorse Brood Pouch Makes Reproduction More Than a Silhouette
The curved body and gripping tail make a seahorse easy to recognise in an illustration. Its reproductive life asks us to look beyond that familiar outline.
Life Below
Inside a Barnacle’s Hard Outline Is a Feeding Crustacean
A patch of barnacles can look like part of the rock until water covers it and movement becomes visible. Their hard outlines conceal animals with a very…
Life Below
Baleen Changes the Question You Ask About a Whale’s Meal
A whale’s great size tells us little by itself about how it gathers food. Looking at the feeding structures directs attention toward a process that a…