Spotted in the murky depths of Tokyo's Asakusa district: a life-support system for clioneWhat's a clione? they're "gelatinous, mostly transparent pteropods." Hungry yet? In layman's terms, they're a tiny, obscure species of cold-water marine invertebrate. They also happen to be the subject of a national obsession in Japan, where they've been elevated to the status of "angels of the sea." These specimens were on display at a shop specializing in Hokkaido foods and other northern souvenirs.
Clione are a staple of Japanese nature documentaries and trivia shows. Which would be intriguing enough, given the unassuming nature of the little beasts, but there's actually a surprisingly robust market for clione-related merchanidse here as well.
hi there, can i see this in the wild i.e. on the sea coast in hokkaido or only in a sea aquarium?
ReplyDeleteHi
ReplyDeleteI only see them at the aquarium.