Discover the Ocean's Oddities: Top 10 Fun Facts About Fascinating Sea Pigs

1. Sea Pig Parties

What do you get when you cross a piggy with the ocean floor? A delightfully squishy mud lover, of course! Meet the sea pig, our underwater porcine friend: Officially known as Scotoplanes, sea pigs are fantastic deep-sea dwellers that scuttle through the sediment on their leg-like tube feet, munching on particles of organic matter, and even pull off synchronized get-togethers for feeding and mating shindigs.
Source => en.wikipedia.org

2. Parasite Party Crashers

Sea pigs may not hog the limelight, but they sure know how to throw a party for uninvited guests: these adorable deep-sea creatures play host to some peculiar parasites like tiny snails and crustaceans who RSVP by boring holes into their bodies and gleefully munching away from the inside!
Source => wired.com

Discover the magical world of sea urchins and their unique, crystal-like spines that grant them incredible flexibility and strength. Are they attending underwater Hogwarts? Dive in to find out!

=> Fun Facts about Sea-Urchins

3. Sea Pig Taxi Service

Who said pigs can't fly? In the deep sea, they score free rides for baby crabs: Sea pigs provide safe passage to juvenile king crabs, who cling to these deep-sea creatures for protection against predators lurking in the murky depths.
Source => oceanconservancy.org

4. Organ-ized Escape Plan

Defying gravity might not be their forte, but when it comes to sticky situations, sea pigs have an "organ"-ized escape plan: These deep-sea creatures can release their internal organs when threatened, later regenerating them to carry on with their scavenging endeavors.
Source => wired.com

5. Anus Breathers

Talk about a real "gas" guzzler: Sea pigs actually breathe through their anuses, using a lung-like system called the respiratory tree to extract oxygen from water!
Source => treehugger.com

6. Oceanic Undertakers

Don't be fooled by its adorableness, the sea pig might just be your go-to dinner party anecdote regarding oceanic undertakers: these plump underwater scamps play a crucial role in the deep-sea ecosystem by scouring ocean floors for decaying plant and animal matter, including gracefully feasting on expired whales using their fancy array of feeding tentacles and tube feet.
Source => wired.com

7. Uninvited Dinner Guests

In the world of marine munchies, the sea pig has some uninvited dinner guests: these fascinating creatures play host to a veritable buffet of parasites, including hole-boring snails and crustaceans that feast on them from the inside out, as documented in grisly vividness on Echinoblog.
Source => wired.com

8. Sea Pig Buffet

Like a group of hungry party-goers diving into the chips and dip, sea pigs have a knack for showing up just in time for a deep-sea buffet: They gather in large groups to feast on the decaying plant and animal bits in deep-sea mud, but they don't chow down on the rotting flesh itself – they prefer the ocean-floor crumbs and scum that fall from the surface.
Source => wired.com

9. Underwater Sitcom

Move over, buddy comedies; there's a new duo in town: sea pigs and baby king crabs! In a deep-sea twist on popular roommates sitcoms, juvenile crabs have been spotted hitching a ride on charitable sea pigs (or their alias, sea cucumbers) in California's Monterey Bay. These underwater BFFs seem to have a mutual agreement: sea pigs offer protection to their clingy crab companions, while crabs most likely gain convenient access to food sources. Although researchers have yet to find a catchy theme song for their newfound deep-sea friendship, they have concluded that this symbiotic relationship is the first of its kind observed in such an environment. Alas, like all good sitcoms, this one ends when the baby crabs outgrow their sea pig roomies and sadly become fish food.
Source => pbs.org

10. Original Underwater Airbnb

Move over, Airbnb: sea pigs are the original underwater hosts for deep-sea travelers! Hosting a variety of parasitic and commensal organisms such as gastropods and small tanaid crustaceans, these deep-sea holothurians are often found in large congregations across the abyssal plain in the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian Oceans, typically at depths ranging from 1,200 to 5,000 meters.
Source => en.wikipedia.org