Time for your close up

So lots of the things we look at are small - including the amazing things that Dexter wrote about in the last post. Much of the seafloor and water is full of small and medium things that are lost in the spectacular landscapes that surround us. While the ctenaphone above is not small...the intricacies of its body is still lost when viewed from afar.

These cnidarians (octocorals) are another example of amazing detail. They carpet the seafloor at Dayton's wall and much of the region. The tentacles are mesmerizing when viewed up close.

Even the large anemones have amazing microstructure. This one is the size of my hand, but up close shows even more beauty.

I don't make a pattern of posting the back end of animals, but even the rear of this nudibranch is a good angle.

And how can one not love all the legs and finer bits of a big sea spider.

At all scales, the underwater world in Antarctica is astounding.