Oct 23, 2014 6:30 AM

Gallery: Striking Portraits Bring the Bizarre Beauty of Marine Invertebrates to Life

© Susan Middleton
01
Red-Eye MedusaPolyorchis penicillatusTaxon: cnidarian hydromedusa
__Red-Eye Medusa__ Unlike most jellyfish, *Polyorchis penicillatus* spends most of its time on the ocean bottom during the day. It perches on its tentacles and feeds on animals crawling on the sand.
© Susan Middleton
02
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__Opalescent Nudibranch__ The orange-tipped tentacles of *Hermissenda crassicornis* are detachable, which helps the animal escape the grasping claws of hungry crabs.

© Susan Middleton
03
Orange-Rimmed Flatwormcf. Maiazoon orsakiTaxon: flatworm
__Orange-Rimmed Flatworm__ This hemaphroditic flatwork (perhaps *Maiazoon orsaki*) has two penises and three to five female openings. No one knows why.
© Susan Middleton
04
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__Frilled Anemone__ In nature, the stalk of this member of the *Phymanthus* genus would be buried in sediment. Only its tentacles would be exposed, and they blend in with the sand to fool unsuspecting prey.

© Susan Middleton
05
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__Stubby Squid__ *Rossia pacifica* is not a true squid. It buries itself in the sandy ocean bottom during the day and crawls out at night.
© Susan Middleton
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__White Phantom Crab__ *Tanaoa distinctus* is named after a Polynesian god who was banished to the depths of the ocean.

© Susan Middleton
07
Pink Brittle StarOphiomyxa australisTaxon: brittle star
__Pink Brittle Star__ Brittle stars, like this *Ophiomyxa australis* move by designating one of their five arms as the front and "rowing" with the other four to propel itself forward.
© Susan Middleton
08
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__Gold-Banded Hermit Crab__ This crab's shell is also home to anemones, tubeworms, and barnacles.

© Susan Middleton
09
Squid (juvenile)Gonatus onyx
__Black-eyed squid__ *Gonatus onyx* is the first squid species shown to take care of its young instead of releasing them en masse on the ocean floor. In 2000, biologists discovered black-eyed squid females holding large gelatinous masses of embryos in their arms.
© Susan Middleton
10
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__Widehand Hermit Crab__ *Elassochirus tenuimanus* inside the shell of a moon snail. Hermit crabs appropriate the shells of snails for protection, but at a price---they can never grow larger than their shell allows.

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