Clione

When I was in Sapporo a few years back I met a lovely little chap known as a clione. These are aquatic gastropods, some kind of sea slug if you will, that thrive in the icy waters around Japan. Being Japanese they've been amazingly anthrapomorphised into lovable characters with their red internal organs represented as a lovely heart. But they are pretty sweet in real life and you can see them in aquariums all over Japan. You can even buy little refrigerated tanks for them if you want to own one yourself. I found a clip here.

The best thing about them is that they're carnivorous and the top of their heads open up into a tentacle ringed maw of doom which extends and catches prey. They're amazing.

I recently got to thinking about the clione again when a friend in Japan sent me over this tub of clione themed jelly sweets. This is a triumph of animal merchandising. I really regret not buying a Hello Kitty dressed as a clione when I was out there. Oh well, next time.