Siphonophore looks like one gigantic animal—130 feet or more, longer than a blue whale—but is actually “many thousands of individuals which form an entity on a higher level.” (Stefan Siebert). Each individual “zooid” (clone) has its own specialized function for the survival of the colony, i.e. capturing prey, navigation, reproduction. Most zooids are so specialized, they can’t survive on their own. Because they are clones, all the zooids are genetically identical. Siphonophore lives in the pelagic zone, the water column of the open ocean.

DETAIL, ROSEBUD WHALE FALL

Oil on canvas on panel, ©Tanya Young 2020.

Here is a detail (see the full illustration on my Science Illustration page) of the JOGGINS (NOVA SCOTIA) CARBONIFEROUS SWAMP FROM 350 MILLION YEARS AGO. The little lizard on the Lepidodendron tree log is Hylonomus lyelli, the earliest lizard and first amniote and thus our and all mammals’ ancestor. This geologic period, the Pennsylvania, had 40% more oxygen than we have now, which made for some extra large insects. The dragonfly pictured (Meganeura) had a wingspan of one meter, and the roach below it was one foot long.

This illustration is for a book entitled Brains Through Time, A Natural History of Vertebrates to be published by Oxford University Press in February 2019. The authors are R. Glenn Northcutt from Scripps Oceanography and Georg Streidter from UC Irvine.

DETAIL, JOGGINS (NOVA SCOTIA) CARBONIFEROUS SWAMP FROM 350 MILLION YEARS AGO (PENNSYLVANIA PERIOD)

Black Prismacolor, Graphite and Ink on Coquille Board.
This drawing will appear soon in Brains Through Time, A Natural History of Vertebrates by R. Glenn Northcutt (Scripps Oceanography) and Georg Striedter (UCIrvine)

THE NEWEST ADDITIONS TO MY WORK IN PROGRESS, ROSEBUD WHALE FALL, FOR GREG ROUSE AND SCRIPPS INSTITUTION OF OCEANOGRAPHY:

PEINALEOPOLYNOE SANTACATALINA (shiny scaleworm)

detail of ROSEBUD WHALE FALL, oil on panel.

This beautiful iridescent scale worm is shown is this vignette with Osedax and small red as-yet-unnamed scale worm living on the decomposing whale bone.

PEINALEOPOLYNOE SANTACATALINA VIGNETTE WITH OSEDAX AND SMALL UNNAMED RED SCALEWORM ON WHALE BONE

Detail of ROSEBUD WHALE FALL (in progress)
Oil on panel.

PEINALEOPOLYNOE SANTACATALINA (VIGNETTE) ON DECOMPOSING WHALE BONE WITH OSEDAX, AND SMALL UNNAMED RED SCALE WORM

Detail of ROSEBUD WHALE FALL (in progress)
Oil on panel.

HAGFISH

Detail of ROSEBUD WHALE FALL, Oil on panel.

Hyalogyrina is a newly discovered species of sea snail—very beautiful—pearly with a bright yellow stripe! It is 3-4mm in length.

Oil paint and mica powder on panel.

AMPHARETID; PANNYCHIA, WHITE GALATHEID, HYALOGYRINA VIGNETTE

Oil paint on panel.

This vignette shows the following species as they live on the whale bone and sediment surrounding the skeleton, plus “blow-ups” of each species: AMPHARETID TUBE WORM (a Polychaete which inhabits the deep sea); WHITE GALATHEID CRAB baby on the tube worm; a PARASTICHOPUS SEA CUCUMBER (2′ in length); HYALOGYRINA (sea snail.)[/caption]

PARASTICHOPUS (orange sea cucumber)

JULY 2017
My new oil painting IN PROGRESS for Greg Rouse of SIO, to be titled ROSEBUD WHALE FALL. Species completed so far (one newly discovered and one living exclusively on whale falls) are below:

ROSEBUD WHALE FALL (in progress), Oil on panel, 27 x 40 ½”, 2017.

Female fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus) struck and killed by a ship in 2011. Sunk by Scripps off the coast of Point Loma for study. Depth of 2765 feet (843 meters.)

The carcass weighed 21 tons and was 60 feet long. It was sunk by 10 tons of chain and scrap metal.

The first whale fall was discovered by a Navy bathyscape in 1977. It is estimated that there are 690,000 whale falls in the ocean at any one time.

BATHYKURILA (detail)

A new species…iridescent! So fun to paint!

A kind of polychaete.

OPHRYOTROCHA DORVILLEIDAE (detail)

“Bristle-worm” and as-yet-unnamed small red scaleworm at top, feeding on whale bone.

Another polychaete.

OSEDAX ROSEUS (detail)

Osedax roseus (Latin “bone-devourer”) lives exclusively on whale falls, feeding off the fats within the bone matrix (pictured.) This species may have evolved before whales, to decompose dinosaur bones and then “waiting out the 20 million year gap between the reptiles’ extinction and the whales’ emergence.” WOW.

The female Osedax has a “harem” of dwarf males in her body/trunk (up to 114 males per female.). The males are 100,000 times smaller than the female, who reproduces continually and feeds through her roots, dissolving the whale bone with acid which she secretes.

Oh, there is one Osedax which has an independent male, O. priapus (not on ROSEBUD.) Priapus is the Greek protector god of livestock, gardens and male genitalia—someone had a good sense of humor:-)

The size of the Osedax roseus female:  1 cm wide and 10 cm long.

Osedax is a foundation species of the deep sea.

And so bizarrely beautiful.

ROSEBUD concept sketch in watercolor

Here is the original concept sketch in watercolor for the oil painting:

PLEASE KEEP TUNED AS I ADD MORE SPECIES, ALL FABULOUSLY BIZARRE AND BEAUTIFUL!