We are proud to present the debut 7″ vinyl release (‘Innovator’ b/w ‘Stuck In The Night’) from Miami’s Plains. The record is limited to 100 copies in black vinyl with individually-stenciled sleeve art by band leader/ songwriter Michael McGinnis. We have rubber stamped our corallimorph logo onto the b-side of the center-sticker and stamped/ numbered the a-side.
BAR is hosting the 7″ release party this Friday, September the 3rd with live sets from Plains and Animal Tropical. We will have the record for sale for $7 at the show.
For those who wish to purchase the Plains 7″ online, please see the Discosoma Records site.
We are proud to present the debut 7″ vinyl release (‘Take Your Time (With Me)’ b/w ‘Never Seen Snow’) from West Palm Beach’s Guy Harvey. The record is limited to 100 copies in black vinyl with individually-screened sleeve art by the band. We have rubber stamped our corallimorph logo onto the b-side of the center-sticker and stamped/ numbered the a-side.
To celebrate The Vagabond is hosting the 7″ release party this Friday the 13th with sponsorship by Sweat Records and the live sounds of Guy Harvey and The Jameses. We will have the record for sale for $7 at the show; see you there!
For those who wish to purchase the Guy Harvey 7″ online, please see the Discosoma Records site.
Click play to check out the a-side, ‘Take Your Time (With Me)’.
Special thanks to Lolo from Sweat Records for facilitating the event and Brian Butler from www.theupperhandart.com for the awesome poster design, which interpolates images from our natural history film, ‘Transmission’.
On Sunday, July 18th from 4 – 8 pm, we will unveil Flower Animal, a collection of fluorescence photographs documenting zoanthids (a soft coral) of Florida’s coral reefs. The show will be open to the public at the Biscayne Nature Center Gallery at the North Beach of Crandon Park on Key Biscayne until September 26th, 10am – 4pm daily. Park entrance fee $6. There will be food and drinks at the opening.
‘The Heart Urchin Pea Crab’ Dissodactylus primitivus on Meoma ventricosa
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Morphologic Studios
Barely 7mm in size, the aptly named heart urchin pea crab (Dissodactylus primitivus) lives its entire life as a passenger upon the slow-moving red heart urchin (Meoma ventricosa). It is an example of the unusual life that can be found by looking in unexpected places on Floridian coral reefs. The red heart urchin is an unusual member of the echinoderm clan (e.g. urchins, sea stars, sand dollars, sea cucumbers) that spends most of its time burrowing in the sand. It sifts through the grains of sand searching for organic detritus that constitutes its diet. Likewise, the heart urchin pea crab lives a well-protected life (usually below the sand) amongst the spines of this fist-sized urchin. While most crabs move swiftly, this pea crab moves slowly in order to navigate through the corridors of spines, even spending time inside the urchin’s mouth. It is likely that the crab feeds upon some of the food that would otherwise be consumed by the urchin. This commensal relationship appears mildly parasitic, as the urchin doesn’t seem to gain any sort of direct benefit from the crab living amongst its spines. Frequently, several heart urchin pea crabs will live communally without any noticeable negative impact to their host urchin’s health.
If you look closely, you’ll notice the rhythmic working of its gills and circulatory system within the heart urchin pea crab’s translucent, eggshell exoskeleton.
‘The Porcelain Crab’ Petrolisthes galathinus feeding on passing plankton
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Morphologic Studios
The porcelain crab’s common name is derived from its propensity to drop claws like a fragile tea cup breaking. When attacked, the would-be predator is usually left with nothing more than a few amputated (and still-twitching) limbs. In a few days the porcelain crab will undergo an ‘emergency molt’ of its exoskeleton and begin regenerating its lost appendages.
The porcelain crab shown here, Petrolisthes galathinus, is a common resident of Floridian and Caribbean reefs, living under rubble and coral heads. Turning over loose rocks will often yield a fleeting glimpse of scurrying, purple legs. They can move incredibly fast and generally remain cryptic to the passing scuba diver. While many crab species are territorial and agressive towards members of their own species, these porcelain crabs can be colonial with several dozen porcelain crabs living together under the same rock.
Despite the similar appearances, porcelain crabs are not ‘true’ crabs; they are in fact more closely related to the squat lobster clan (Galatheidae) than the archetypal brachyuran crabs we are all familiar with. Porcelain crabs’ flattened bodies are adapted to their life under rocks and in crevices. One of the defining features of porcelain crabs are the comb-like appendages called ‘setae’ that sweep the water currents in order to collect edible particles that happen to float by. Another pair of specialized appendages scrape the the setae and bring the collected food to their mouthparts. This feeding strategy, with its alternating rhythm, appears robotic in its efficiency.
‘The Lettuce Slug’ Elysia crispata on Halimeda opuntia
Music, Video, and Aquarium
2010 Morphologic Studios
Lettuce sea slugs (Elysia crispata) are a commonly found in protected nearshore Floridian waters where green macroalgae proliferates. They belong to a clan of sea slugs, the sarcoglossans, that are characterized by their ‘sap-sucking’ feeding habits of algae. These slugs slowly patrol mangrove roots and rocks searching for green algae upon which they feed. They store some of the chloroplasts from eaten algae in their tissue, giving it the green coloration. The chloroplasts continue to function, providing the slug with photosynthetic energy. The ruffles along the back of the lettuce sea slug are called parapodia, and help provide more surface area for the chloroplasts to inhabit. They also camouflage the slug amongst the leafy algae that they live amongst. It is very easy to swim past a lettuce nudibranch without ever noticing it.
The scrolled rhinophores (antennae) on the head of the lettuce sea slug help detect the chemical fingerprints of their preferred algal species. If you look carefully, just behind the rhinophores, you’ll notice the small black eye spots that act as rudimentarly eyes to detect changes in light and dark.
The macroalgae featured in the film is Halimeda opuntia, (named after its resemblance to the prickly pear cactus Opuntia sp. ). It is unique amongst green algae in that it produces a semi-rigid, calcareous skeleton. In fact, the dead ‘leaf’ fragments of Halimeda spp. algae are a more significant producer of coral reef sand than the corals themselves. It is not uncommon to find lettuce sea slugs on Halimeda opuntia algae, as it frequently lives amidst the softer green algae that the lettuce sea slugs prefer.
The sally lightfoot crab (Percnon gibbsi) is an agile maneuverer on the rocky shores of the Caribbean. These crabs are particularly well-suited to life on craggy limestone rock in shallow water. The rockwork is the result of sea urchins eroding the limestone as they rasp off the algae growing on the surface. The cumulative erosion by sea urchins over many years creates a jagged network of fissures and channels through the solid rock. The sally lightfoot crab’s pancake-flat body allows it to scuttle beneath the protective spines of a nearby urchin at a moment’s notice. Anemonia bermudensis sea anemones like the ones seen in the film can also be common on the rocks in this surf-washed zone. The sally lightfoot’s nimble legs allow it zig-zag harmlessly between the tentacles of these stinging animals. Between the crab’s eyes you’ll notice a pair of fast-flitting antennae that detect the ‘smell’ of food in the water. The turbulence of the environment requires accurate detection and nimble response.
