An unidentified cnidarian that resembles a Venus flytrap from the family Hormathiidae. Found at 1874 meters depth on the slopes of the Davidson Seamount. Click image for larger view and image credit.
A Picture is Worth 1,000 Words
January 30, 2006
Andrew DeVogelaere
Marine Scientist
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
Lorraine Anglin
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary
The phrase "a picture is worth 1,000 words" is certainly true for Davidson Seamount. The images from the 2002 Davidson Seamount expedition excited the public and motivated protection of deep-sea corals and seamounts. Images from this cruise are making their way to web sites, and have already been exchanged with scientists on-shore to begin the description of what is probably a new species of branching sponge. The seamount artwork pictures from students at the School of the Madeleine have been a hit our expedition web site. We will return on February 4 with thousands of new still images and over 100 hours of high definition video tape.
One of the challenges of education is developing the best way to share images. The Sanctuary Integrated Monitoring Network (SIMoN) created a web-based photo database so everyone can use pictures for teaching, reports, presentations, and just plain fun. More than 200 images from the Davidson Seamount are available on the SIMoN website. The SIMoN photo database contains over 1,000 digital images on a variety of species and seascapes in the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Just click on the photo database and search the images by general groupings, genus/species, or enter a specific keyword search, such as "Davidson Seamount." Among the many deep sea images from the 2002 cruise you will find a multitude of corals, octopi, a red flat Spanish dancer, an anemone that resembles a Venus flytrap, and elegant deep sea jellies to name just a few.
This curious octopus (Benthoctopus sp.) was found at 2422 meters depth next to an orange stalked crinoid on the Davidson Seamount. Click image for larger view and image credit.
A red flat Spanish dancer sea cucumber (Benthodytes sp.) is hovering at 2789 meters depth on the Davidson Seamount. Click image for larger view and image credit.
We're looking forward to adding significantly to the SIMoN photo database on our return! Anyone needing to write a 1,000 word essay for class, you might add a picture and see if you can get credit for an extra 1,000 words… At least you'll find out if your teacher has a sense of humor!
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