Animals of the Florida Keys

Photo by Jenny Venturo

America’s Florida Keys are home to a wide range of animals. The Keys are located off the Southernmost tip of Florida, making them subtropical. Among many other species are Florida Horse Conchs, Portuguese Man-of-Wars, and iguanas.

Photo by Jenny Venturo

A Live Florida Horse Conch

Florida Horse Conchs are common mollusks in the waters around the Keys. A mollusk has a slimy, soft body and a hard shell. Florida Horse Conchs are large shells—24 inches—and are carnivores. They have an operculum, which is like a door to the shell. Horse Conchs live in seagrass meadows, mud flats, and other sandy bottoms. They are the largest shells in the Atlantic Ocean.

Photo by Jenny Venturo

A Portuguese Man-of-War

Portuguese Man-of-Wars are siphonophores, but look like a jellyfish. A siphonophore is made up of smaller organisms called zooids. These zooids perform different functions like digestion, hunting, and reproduction. The whole siphonophore acts like one organism. Portuguese Man-of-Wars are the strongest of all siphonophores—they will not break when you handle them.

Portuguese Man-of-Wars have a float called a pneumatophore that they partially fill with poisonous carbon monoxide gas. Scientists think that this is gradually replaced with air. They also have stinging tentacles to capture prey. Venom-filled nematocysts are what can paralyze the small fish and other prey that the Portuguese Man-of-War catches.

The name “Portuguese Man-of-War” comes from the animal’s resemblance to the Portuguese Man-of-War ship, or “caravel.”

Photo by Jenny Venturo

An Iguana

Iguanas are herbivorous lizards that live in Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean. Though they are not native to Florida, they have been introduced to the Florida Keys. Iguanas can grow to 6.5 feet including their tails. They have many kinds of scales on their bodies, including a subtympanic shield.

The Florida Keys are home to a wide variety of tropical animals. Each of these species is designed with intricate processes that enable it to live in the habitat it was created for. One who looks closely at these processes can’t help but see the hand of the God Who has made them!

Information from:

Bemis, Amanda. "Five Facts: Portuguese Man-of-War." Florida Museum of Natural History, September 24, 2020.

https: //www.florida museum. ufl.edu/science/five-facts-portuguese-man-of-war/

Harasewych, M. G., and Fabio Moretzsohn. The Book of Shells: A Life-size Guide to Identifying and Classifying Six Hundred Seashells. London: The Ivy Press, 2010.

Wikipedia