Today we have some lovely tidepool photos from Intellectual Heros Abby Thompson at Davis. Her captions are indented, and you can enlarge the photos by clicking on them. Thanks to her and other people who sent in photos yesterday. They will all eventually appear.
Some pictures from the late May northern California tidepools, starting with an Anthopleura artemisia (moonglow anemone). I’ve posted several of these; they have strikingly different colors and patterns. This one seemed particularly photogenic:
Anthopleura sola (Sunburst anemone). These are common, large, and occasionally this spectacular, almost fluorescent, green (they all fluoresce under UV light).
Lissothuria nutriens (Dwarf sea cucumber). This looks like a stray chunk of starfish (it was about 1” long). You can see a few of its tube feet sticking out of the side. If caught at the right time of day, or tide, the pinkish area on the left side would expand into frilly tentacles (see the next picture from a few years ago).
Lissothuria nutriens (from 2020) showing the tentacles:
Genus Caprella. The caprellid shrimps are everywhere, like a Greek chorus for the rest of the sea life. This one is pregnant- you can see the eggs in her belly:
Eubranchus rustyus (homely aeolid) nudibranch:
Epiactis handi. This is an uncommon species of Epiactis, named after the biologist Cadet Hand, who was a Director of the Bodega Marine Lab: There is (only) one cluster of these that I’ve found in a cave-like bit of the coast. It’s distinguished by the beautiful swirling pattern on its disk, and the way sand and other debris adheres to its column, unlike other Epiactis species:
Velutina velutina (velvet shell, a snail):
Geitodoris heathi (Heath’s dorid, nudibranch):
Tonicella lokii (flame-lined chiton) One of the loveliest chitons on our coast, with its snappy pink and blue zig-zag:
Beautiful! The anemone looks like a flock of sardines doing synchronized swimming!
Fantastic. Chitins are so cool. We have one in the Pacific Northwest that is as large as a football (link below). I learned about them—and saw several in the wild—when I was at Friday Harbor Laboratories in 1982.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gumboot_chiton
Beautiful! The structures and colors of these sea creatures are so gorgeous.
Excellent photography there. Love those “suckers”.
Anemones are quizzical, quietly charismatic little beasts.
Kudos,
D.A.
NYC
Thank you so much for your absolutely gorgeous photos of the various tidal pool animals (if that is what one calls them). I do not know much about the scientific aspects, but I most certainly appreciate their beauty and always learn something.
Elegant, exquisite, … as usual!
😁
Lovely photos. Tide pooling in Northern California is my kind of fun. I used to do a lot of it around Fort Bragg i.e. Laguna Point. I haven’t been there for years, but your photos stirred up many fond memories. Thanks!
These are all incredible — some familiar, some not, but all brilliantly photographed. The Flame Chiton is a real stunner!
Beautiful invertebrate photos! Thanks for these!
Gorgeous photos. So much beauty around us.
These are all beautiful! Thank you.