Gone to my Happy Place.

You may have noticed I haven't posted anything in quite a while. I've been off to my happy place--writing and finishing edits and revisions of my next novel, The Un-Familiar: A Tale of Cats and Gods. This is the sequel to Ye Gods! A Tale of Dogs and Demons. It's now off to the publisher for their editor to have a stab at, followed by any corrections and revisions they request, then layout and cover design, and all the other magic they do to come up with a finished product, ready to head out into the world...probably sometime in the spring of 2016. (YIPPEEEE!!)

With all the excitement and work of finalizing the manuscript, the blog has fallen by the wayside. I don't foresee posting regularly in the months ahead, either, as I begin plotting and outlining my next two novels (A Rattling of Bones, based on this short story; and Ye Goddess! A Tale of Girls and Gods, the final book in the Chupacabra Trilogy).

Will post news and updates on this page as it becomes available. In the meantime, you can "like" my author page on Facebook (Marina Melee by Lynne M. Hinkey) to see what I'm up to!

ATTACK OF THE KILLER SPONGE

It's been a while since I've introduced a crazy-sea-creature...OK, it's been a while since I posted at all, but lets get back to our watery-roots. Today, I'd like to take you down the eddy to a seafloor nightmare: Sponge Bob's evil twin (dun, dun, dun!)



Sponge Bob's Evil Twin?

 ...the Harp Sponge.

The harp sponge (Chondrocladia lyra) is a species of carnivorous deep-sea sponge. Yes, you read that right. Carniverous. Predators.

They don't eat in the typical way of sponges that sweep water into their pores and filter out microscopic bacteria and bits of organic matter for dinner. This sponge is a hunter: it traps larger marine life like copepods and other crustaceans with Velcro-like hooks.

The harp sponge was discovered by Monterey BayAquarium Research Institute off the coast of California. As you can see in this picture, it gets its name (both common, Harp Sponge, and Latin species name, lyra from it's branching arms, or vanes, with vertical limbs that look like the strings of a harp or lyre.

A deep sea Harp Sponge. Photo from MBARI

Don't let the delicate beauty of this bad-boy-Sponge-Bob fool you. Those branching limbs are covered with barbed hooks that trap their prey. Then, the sponge encapsulates them in a digestive membrane, dissolving them into a fish-smoothie that it can absorb through its pores. Yummmm.

Here's another look.

 Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the ocean...