Today we have a lovely batch of tidepool organisms taken by UC Davis math professor Abby Thompson, who is also a Hero of Intellectual Freedom. Abby’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge her photos by clicking on them.
More tidepool pictures from Dillon Beach, CA. The best tidepooling season is just getting underway. There are some big tides at the end of April, and they’ll recur through July, with the low tides at ghastly hours of the morning. These pictures from March were from less painful times of day. There are a few species I’ve posted before, but they had some especially photogenic representatives this month.
Several of these animals are really (really) tiny, and some are both tiny and fast, so some of the pictures aren’t perfect, but I think they’re interesting creatures.
Phidiana hiltoni (nudibranch). Posted before, but this one was a beauty:
Genus Ophiopholis (brittle star). Distinguishing species in this genus requires better pictures than this one. This tiny- about an inch tip to tip- brittle star was on the underside of a rock. These move fast and gracefully. They’re in the same phylum as big ochre stars, the sea urchins (see the next two pictures) and sea cucumbers:
Strongylocentrotus purpuratus (purple sea urchin). I know, it’s green, but the juveniles start green and then turn purple. The next picture shows its mouth on the underside:
Sea urchin mouth:
Family Sabellidae (feather duster worm). Another very tiny creature, visible to the naked eye as just a slight pink fuzz. This marine worm lives in a tube of its own creation, and retracts into the tube in a flash if disturbed. The dark dots at the base of the “feathers” are eyes:
Caesia fossata (eggs from this snail).
Margarites pupillus (tentative ID) I liked the bit of opalescence on the shell:
Coryphella trilineata (nudibranch). Another one I’ve posted before, posing for the camera:
Genus Gnathopleustes (amphipod). Yet another tiny guy. I’ve found just a few of these, a speck of bright color in the seaweed:
Mopalia acuta (chiton). The Mopalia species can be hard to distinguish from photos, so this ID should be taken with a grain of salt. Chitons usually cling to a rock like a limpet, but they can curl into a ball like a roly-poly to protect their vulnerable body if they get dislodged:
Camera info: Mostly Olympus TG-7, in microscope mode, pictures taken from above the water.
Elegant, exquisite – the photography brings it out, bravo.
Excellent! It’s hard to photograph those little creatures—especially when they are moving across the field of view.
All so intriguing, especially the feather duster worm with its tiny pepper-dot eyes.
Very nice! I remember visiting tide pools long ago, and exploring these for hours I’d just forget the passage of time. As one should.
Wonderful! I’m always fascinated with such complexity in tiny organisms.
Beautiful pictures.
Please continue to photograph the animals of tidepools–the creatures found there are so interesting and beautiful!
Nice collection.
Amazing pictures. Thanks!
Delightful — thanks.
Lovely photos of lovely beasts. We really enjoy the tidepools near us (3 hours away). And thanks for the technical/equipment information!
I especially love the feather duster worm! Thank you.
Thanks all for the kind comments!
Thank you for the wonderful tidepool shots!