under the sea

B loves books like Under The Sea by Fiona Patchett (thank you Usborne Publishing!). I'm glad she enjoys such books, because besides the fact that they're really educational, they also provide her with informative gems which she'd mention in passing, and I'd be like, "Really? Wow".

Like this evening, she mentioned that there are jellyfish that have tentacles as long as a soccer field! And I was like, "Really? Wow".

And she also told me that some giant squid are as long as a whale. Like, "Really? Wow"! I mean, can you just imagine that? How awesome God's creatures are!

While I am on this topic, I am reminded of my lovely Constellation Oarfish painting by the brilliant Michelle Knowlen of Eggman Studios. Isn't he a beauty!

The real oarfish is as awe-inspiring as the jellyfish and the squid. They are apparently the longest bony fish alive, measuring up to 56 feet in length! They have about 400 dorsal fin rays, with the first 10 to 12 rays being elongated and forming a lovely trailing crest.

It seems that oarfish are rarely seen alive in their natural habitat, being deepwater fish; mostly they are found washed ashore or dying at the sea's surface (sad). The poor oarfish in this video is apparently the only time the fish has been filmed alive:

p.s. B informed me that sperm whales eat giant squid. Of course I immediately thought of that age-old depiction of squid and whale locked in ferocious mortal combat. Wikipedia tells me this is more fantastical than true, but this site suggests differently (this site also seems to offer loads of other intriguing tidbits!).