Today we have some intertidal photos taken in California by UC Davis math professor Abby Thompson. Abby’s captions and IDs are indented, and you can enlarge her photos by clicking on them.
May is a great month on the California coast, with extreme high and low tides. Here are some photos from the most recent, excellent, set:
Pollicipes polymerus (Gooseneck barnacles). I’ve shown these, and some relatives, several times before, but they’re amazing animals. In case you think it’s too many barnacles, Darwin spent eight years looking at barnacles. “Originally planning a brief month-long study to establish his credentials in invertebrate zoology, he became deeply immersed and cataloged every known living and fossil species.” (Google AI). I’m not sure what the green is doing here, presumably just growing on top of the animals. Some relatives of the nudibranchs stay green from what they eat, and retain bits with the ability to photosynthesize, most famously the adorable leaf sheep:.
Dendronotus venustus (nudibranch):
Paciocinebrina lurida (a snail):
Tonicella lokii (flame-lined chiton):
Genus Tegula (maybe) (another snail). There was a hermit crab living in the shell- I didn’t get a good photo of him. I’m not sure the genus is correct, but the shell was so pretty I wanted to post it:
Nucella ostrina (Northern striped dogwinkle). About the common name—well, it has stripes. And it’s a “winkle” (a word you have to love), or “little whelk”. The dog part, I dunno. They’re very common, and voracious. Some species of Nucella (not sure about this one) can be used to make a deep purple dye, which used to be hard to come by. There’s a fun account of making the dye here, although I’m afraid many snails must have been sacrificed in the process:
Paradialychone ecaudata (worm):
Limpet, probably Lottia pelta (shield limpet). The little lacy edge is tentacles: “Pallial tentacles are tiny, sensory structures lining the mantle margin (pallium) of limpets. . . The tips and shafts of these tentacles are covered in dense tufts of non-motile cilia, which act as sensory receptors.” (Google AI):
Seagulls at sunset:
As always, thanks to experts on inaturalist for help with some IDs. Camera is an Olympus TG-7.
Great pics, thanks! I keep saying I’m going to try to take macro pics, but never get around to it. And I understand that the camera you’re using is quite good for macros. I might need to try it.
Thank you so much for the wonderful photos. I always look forward to your posts about these amazing creatures!
Very nice!
Concerning winkles (and Madeline Kahn, may she rest in peace).
https://clip.cafe/the-adventure-of-sherlock-holmes-smarter-brother-1975/what-in-the-letter-miss-hill/?srsltid=AfmBOoqHPlFibcLmYMFdZqsVKfCqL7lwJi6KyETJCqL9GnP9Zng3cVH3
I’m looking forward to watching the whole episode now…..
Many thanks for the beautiful pictures and explanation
Always such a cool set of pix from the sea! The hermit crab reminds me of Pagoo, which is my favorite children’s book, and it tells the story about the life of one them. There is wonderful artwork to be found in those pages.
Holling Clancy Holling – he wrote (and illustrated) a number of great books for kids. Minn of the Mississippi and Paddle-to-the-Sea are the ones I remember best, but Pagoo was fascinating.
Just ordered it, thanks for the recommendation- I have a 5-year old grandson, it looks perfect! And thanks all for the kind comments.
Fabulous, as always – a trip into a world so close by yet unfamiliar, revealed in all its colors and details by your photos. Thanks!
Love my little TG-6 (with water housing) and when it retires I will probably get the TG-7 which took these great photos!
These animals have such amazing variety in design and color!