Sea pig or świnka morska?

One of our first EBS brought us a lot of joy. While our team usually focuses on tiny animals that can only be seen under a microscope, this time, a sea pig ended up in our net! Let’s take a moment to talk about these adorable creatures.  

A sea pig (Scotoplanes sp.) is a deep-sea sea cucumber from the family Elpidiidae. It lives thousands of meters below the surface and uses its tiny, tube-like legs to walk along the seafloor. These soft, jelly-like animals feed by sucking up organic matter from the mud. Despite their cute name, sea pigs are tough survivors in one of the most extreme environments on Earth.  

After taking a few photos, we released the sea pig back home, but it reminded me of something funny. Since my first language is Polish, I started thinking about how to say sea pig in Polish. A direct translation would be świnka morska – but there’s a problem… In Polish, świnka morska actually means guinea pig! The name świnka morska most likely comes from historical trade routes. Guinea pigs were brought to Europe by sea, possibly from South America via ships, which might explain the “sea” part. The “pig” part comes from their appearance and the squealing sounds they make, which resemble those of pigs. 

Language can be tricky, and this little mix-up is a perfect example of how words don’t always translate the way you’d expect.

Kamila Głuchowska
Univeristy of Łódź