Today’s photos are from California tidepools and were taken by UC Davis math professor Abigail Thompson, a recognized “hero of intellectual freedom.” Abby’s notes and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them.
September-October tidepools (Northern California).
September and October tides are not as extreme as the tides of midsummer, and by mid-October the lowest tides occur after sunset, which altogether makes finding creatures and taking pictures a bit more challenging. As usual I got help with some of the IDs from people on inaturalist.
Phyllocomus hiltoni: this Doctor-Suessian marine worm washed up on the beach in a clump of eelgrass. It was tiny; the photo is through a microscope. I already thought it was amazing, but then (see the next picture) as a bonus it also sprouted tentacles:
Phyllocomus hiltoni with frills!
Porychthis notatus: these tiny fish showed up when I turned over a rock. They were very small, I assume newly-hatched:
Porychthis notatus: close-up:
Anthopleura sola (starburst anemone), one of the more spectacular sea anemones:
Phragmatopoma californica (California sandcastle worm): These worms often live in groups and form large conglomerations of the tubes they live in (the “sandcastles”). The black shell-like thing on the left is the worm’s operculum, like a lid to close off the top of the tube when the worm withdraws. The next picture is a close-up of the operculum:
Operculum close-up:
Triopha maculata: nudibranch; this one looks like he’s eating the pink bryozoan, but he may just be passing over it, I’m not sure what this species eats (nudibranchs are very picky eaters):
Epiactis prolifera (brooding anemone: probably): there are a few species of Epiactis sea anemones along the California coast; prolifera is the most common:
Halosydna brevisetosa: Eighteen-scaled worm, found on the underside of a rock. There are 18 pairs of scales, with a close-up of them in the next picture.
Close-up of scales:
Low tide on this day was about an hour after sunset, which is a lovely time to be out on the beach:
Camera info: Mostly Olympus TG-7, in microscope mode, pictures taken from above the water. The first picture was taken with my iphone through the eyepiece of a microscope.
Spectacular! Thank you for introducing me to a new world, Abigail! Beautiful pictures, and way better than science fiction!
Absolutely agree. And all this is so unexpected. at least by me. A thousand thanks.
Wonderful!
There’s something about tide pools … a sort of “I wonder what will be in this one”…
Very cool! Makes me want to go out and explore a shoreline somewhere.
Thanks for sharing your pictures—they are insightful—and I admire your courage and bravery for sharing your opinion with the WSJ.
Interesting photos! Thanks!
Such great pictures! Getting on your hands and knees to observe what’s in a tide pool is a fantastic adventure! Creepy crawly swimmy goodness.
Beautiful sea creatures and lovely photos! Thanks for sharing these!
Wow, the ocean is amazing! Thank you for these photos.
Thank you for a great experience scanning this post. I am so unfamiliar with these creatures. What a treat to see them and so close up.
This post was beautiful!
Loved these photos! Thank you.
As Mary (#8 above) said, amazing! Thank you for sharing these here. What a treat!
I love the closer, then even closer views. I’t like you can read what this veiwer is thinking. Always amazing!