sea butterfly
Winged marine mollusk
A sea butterfly is a small marine snail that swims through open water rather than crawling along the bottom.
These mollusks have wing-like extensions of their foot that they flap to propel themselves, giving them their poetic name.
Sea butterflies are an important food source for fish and whales, and their delicate calcium carbonate shells make them particularly vulnerable to ocean acidification.
Single-shelled soft creature
- shellHard outer covering
- translucentPermitting diffused light passage
- mantleCovering or wrap
- radulaMollusk scraping organ
soft-bodied · gelatinous · foot · operculum · coiled · bilateral · ciliated · fragile
Of the open sea
- marineRelating to the sea
- saltwaterOcean water, chemically speaking
- planktonicDrifting in water
- polarOf extreme latitudes
arctic · midwater · drifting · currents · upwelling · thermocline · mesopelagic · cold-water
Drifting aquatic microorganisms
- predationHunting and consuming prey
- filter-feederOrganism extracting food from water
- phytoplanktonPhotosynthetic aquatic drifters
- grazerHerbivore eating low vegetation
sinking · bioluminescence · nocturnal · swarm · bloom
Increase in hydrogen ions
- sentinelGuard who monitors
- vulnerableOpen to attack
- threatenedExpressed intent to harm
- aragoniteCalcium carbonate crystal form
gastropod
Single-shelled soft creature
- shellHard outer covering
- translucentPermitting diffused light passage
- mantleCovering or wrap
radula · soft-bodied · gelatinous · foot · operculum · coiled · bilateral · ciliated · fragile · gossamer
pelagic
Of the open sea
- marineRelating to the sea
- saltwaterOcean water, chemically speaking
- planktonicDrifting in water
polar · arctic · midwater · drifting · currents · upwelling · thermocline · mesopelagic · cold-water · temperate
zooplankton
Drifting aquatic microorganisms
- predationHunting and consuming prey
- filter-feederOrganism extracting food from water
- phytoplanktonPhotosynthetic aquatic drifters
grazer · sinking · bioluminescence · nocturnal · swarm · bloom
acidification
Increase in hydrogen ions
- sentinelGuard who monitors
- vulnerableOpen to attack
- threatenedExpressed intent to harm
aragonite · pH · warming · canary · fragile · monitoring · research
- mollusksclams, mollusk, mollusks, snail, snails
- sea creaturescrab, lobster, shrimp, jellyfish, octopus
- gastropodssnail, slug, nudibranchs, sea slugs, land snails
- clionid
- sea slugssea slug, sea slugs, nudibranch, blue dragon, blue angel
- gelatinous creaturesmoon jellyfish, box jellyfish, comb jelly, salp, moon jelly