Gallery: Striking Portraits Bring the Bizarre Beauty of Marine Invertebrates to Life
© Susan Middleton01Red-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 Middleton02Spineless-p6-7
__Opalescent Nudibranch__ The orange-tipped tentacles of *Hermissenda crassicornis* are detachable, which helps the animal escape the grasping claws of hungry crabs.
© Susan Middleton03Orange-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 Middleton04Spineless-p47
__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 Middleton05Spineless-p43
__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 Middleton06Spineless-p40
__White Phantom Crab__ *Tanaoa distinctus* is named after a Polynesian god who was banished to the depths of the ocean.
© Susan Middleton07Pink 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 Middleton08Spineless-p256
__Gold-Banded Hermit Crab__ This crab's shell is also home to anemones, tubeworms, and barnacles.
© Susan Middleton09Squid (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 Middleton10Spineless-p209
__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.
