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Following on from last week’s top 10 music (which I’m going to run for a little longer, by the way), Nando sent me his top 10 species. Here they are, with a little bit about why he likes them so much.

We hope to bring you more guest posts from Nando very soon!

1. 

   Phialella zappai by Alberto Gennari

   Phialella zappai

   the Zappa jellyfish, what else? I found it during my stay at Bodega Bay, in 1983. When I offered a new jellyfish to Frank Zappa he answered: there is nothing in my life I’d like better than having a jellyfish with my name! No problem, Frank!

2. Boeromedusa auricogonia

   this one has my name, my friend Jean Bouillon named the genus after me, but then he teased me: the name of the species hints at pendulous gonads, even if this feature has nothing to do with me.

3. Cetorhinus maximus

   the gentle giant, I saw one looooong time ago, and he was longer than the boat. It makes you feel so small.

4. Branchiocerianthus imperator

   the largest hydroid (2 m high), named after Emperor Hirohito (a hydrozoan specialist himself, we used to exchange reprints).

5. Eunectes murinus

   aka anaconda. There was a 6 m specimen in the Natural Museum of Genova, I could look at it for hours when I was a boy, I owe to that guy my career in zoology.



6. Homo sapiens

   after all, I like us, in all available models.

7. Jassa falcata

   it is an amphipod (now the right name is Jassa marmorata), I studied its behaviour during my thesis. Lots of fun. I felt like big brother in observing those little creatures through a stereomicroscope.

8. Artemia franciscana

   those resting stages that become alive overnight. So mysterious. Then I became a fanatic of resting stages, and I use Artemia to feed my jellyfish.

9. Schistosoma mansoni

   copulation for life, nothing else to do in the life of a parasite.

10. Thunnus thynnus

    so good! too good! I like you! but we are too many: the unsustainable goodness of the seas!

Phialella zappai, DOI: 10.1080/00222938700771131