whale talker

Dark and windy today....but grand nonetheless. Here are some pictures (not mine, internet) of that critter I was talking about in the last post. It is a gelatinous zooplankton of the family Salpidae. It is a multicellular animal related to The Tunicates and is indigenous to this area. Their large numbers at this time are yet a bit of a question though phytoplankton "blooms" are certainly implicated. One of the many interesting things about these creatures is that they have the beginnings of a central nervous system and a very primitive symmetry which may have evolved into the more sophisticated Vertebrates later.
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This information was sent to me by Brigette Mercier in Canada, a dear friend and part of my "family". Brigette, her husband Jean-Luc and their sons Antoine, Tristan and Quentin have adopted me.