Sea Monkeys Moving The Ocean

Working on revised character sketches for Sea Monkey and Bob today and was reminded of some IMPORTANT SCIENTIFIC SEA MONKEY NEWS that Lawrence Schimel and Cathy Ballou Mealey recently told me about:

"Swarms of tiny animals as small as brine shrimp—known to kids the world over as Sea-Monkeys—could have an outsize effect on ocean currents when they swim together in giant herds, according to new research." (National Geographic)

Without a doubt, Micky, Peter, Nyarlathotep, Alan, Mary Margaret, Bilbo, Sojourner, Boris, Pochyk, Pippa, Sea Monkey Killing Unit #1, Tarquin, Brunhilda, Delphine, Monkey Doo, Brooke and Russell are out there somewhere, MOVING THE OCEAN.

(For those who missed my previous blog entry: my Sea Monkeys escaped!)

Shocking News: My Sea-Monkeys Have Escaped!

As some of you already know, I've been raising Sea-Monkeys as part of my research for illustrating SEA-MONKEY AND BOB by Aaron Reynolds (Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers, 2015).

Well, I CAN'T BELIEVE IT. I went upstairs this afternoon to find an empty aquarium and a note (see photo). My Sea-Monkeys have left me for greener pastures (bluer waters?). Ah, how I will miss my wee watery denizens: Micky, Peter, Nyarlathotep, Alan, Mary Margaret, Bilbo, Sojourner, Boris, Pochyk, Pippa, Sea Monkey Killing Unit #1, Tarquin, Brunhilda, Delphine, Monkey Doo, Brooke and Russell.

I do admit to a brief moment of suspicion that SMKU#1 forged the letter to cover up a heinous crime ... but then I remembered his poor penmanship. He could never have written this note.

Anyway, it looks as if my friend Annie Walker is off the hook -- she had originally promised to bake a cake for every Sea-Monkey who survived a full year. But now that they've fled, I have no way of knowing. I'd like to think my tiny briny friends will find their way to lovely temperate waters where they will frolic in crowns and sing Sea-Monkey songs as they wave their miniature tridents in time to the beat.

Debbie's Sea-Monkeys are TWO MONTHS OLD!

My UK friend Annie Walker has promised to bake a birthday cake for every Sea-Monkey who survives a full year.

At this point, the surviving Sea-Monkeys are Micky, Peter, Nyarlathotep, Alan, Mary Margaret, Bilbo, Sojourner, Boris, Pochyk, Pippa, Sea Monkey Killing Unit #1, Tarquin, Brunhilda, Delphine, Monkey Doo and Russell.

In the video I just took, you'll notice one of the larger Sea-Monkeys swimming in a jerky motion near the surface; this is Pippa. As far as I can tell from my research, Pippa is giving birth RIGHT NOW!! One of the new Sea-Monkey babies will be named Brooke, courtesy Cheryl Johnson.

Day 47: Debbie's Sea-Monkey Project

Debbie's Sea-Monkey Project, Day 47 from Debbie Ohi on Vimeo.

(This project is part of my research during the illustration process for SEA-MONKEY AND BOB, a new picture book written by Aaron Reynolds, coming out from Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers in Fall 2015).

When I posted last time on Facebook, some of you asked how you can tell if a Sea-Monkey is pregnant. If you look closely at the video above, you can recognize the pregnant Sea-Monkeys by the egg sacs visible near what passes as their stomachs.

I got curious about Sea-Monkey reproduction, so did some research. Did you know that female Sea-Monkeys have the option of fertilizing her own eggs if she so chooses? Wow. The process is called parthenogenesis.

Information resources:

Sea-Monkey Reproduction FAQ - On SeaMonkeyWorship.com

Sea-Monkeys Information Center

Day 28: Sea-Monkey Project

Still no sign of Monkey C, and now Michael and Edwina have disappeared as well. Russell has ceased swimming in circles, but I'm still worried about him because he hasn't made any friends yet. He follows Boris around, but the latter just ignores the smaller Sea-Monkey. Poor Boris. 

As you can tell from the above video, some of the Sea-Monkeys have gotten....er...quite close. Monkey Doo and Brunhilda have hooked up, as have Pippa and Nyarlathotep. I'm excited about potential impending Sea-Monkey babies!

Remaining Sea-Monkeys: Micky, Davy, Peter, Nyarlathotep, Alan, Mary Margaret, Bilbo, Sojourner, Boris, Hortense, Pochyk, Pippa, Sea Monkey Killing Unit #1, Tarquin, Brunhilda, Brianna, Delphine, Joan, Monkey Doo and Russell.