Living up a bum - The Sea Cucumber and Pearl Fish

We never realized how fascinating the sea cucumber, was. The marine animal is so called because of its resemblance to a cucumber, but that's just the start of it...

They say 'Home is where the heart is', well for some 'Home is where the bum is'.. Wait! What? Backup! Yep you heard right 'Home is where the bum is', if you're a pearl fish and that bum is a sea cucumber.

Sea cucumbers are sausage shape animals that are found on the bottom of the ocean where they vacuum up the sand and filter out all the good bits. It seems as though pearl fish have taken a bit of a fancy for some particular sea cucumbers and set up house in their rear end.

Why? Is it the million dollar ocean views? We asked all these questions and more. The upside is, any place you live from now on is going to seem like paradise.

The Nature of Science