Naughty, Naughty Sea Mouse
image credit: Shandchem, via FlickrHabitat: North Atlantic, North Sea, Baltic Sea, & Mediterranean
This my friends is a Sea Mouse. Obbbbvviiiiousssllyyy it’s not actually a mouse – it’s a worm. Ew. But oh well. It’s still fluffy? It’s body is covered in a dense mat of chaetae (hairs).
So now you’re probably asking yourself, “Why is the title of this post Naughty, Naughty Sea Mouse?” (as you very well should be).
Answer: The scientific name of the sea mouse is Aphrodita aculeata which is taken from the Greek goddess of love, Aphrodite. The punch line is when viewed ventrally, the sea mouse resembles a human female’s genitalia. Don’t get too excited out there animal lovers…



No comments? Really??
Well…not any more! Thanks a lot jerk!
like your work great work miss ,really like this i am a student of biology and like so much all this ……..Raviray……..http://www.facebook.com/ravirayy
After a storm last August (in Australia) I found hundreds of these sea mouses/mice washed up on the beach. I threw back all those I found alive. Those hairs do sting a bit as I discovered. I love your exploration of these unusual animals. Have you done sea hares yet? They also got washed up with the sea mouse, poor things.
lol this whole site makes me feel I was greatly cheated in my biology education.