Tag Archives: Bat Star

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Roxanne Holmes wrote, “This Sea Star is alive and seems to be doing okay despite missing a couple of ‘legs,’ or whatever they’re called. I check on it every low tide, and it changes position but continues to do well. Do Sea Stars thrive without all their limbs? What destroys or severs their limbs? Will the limbs grow back?”

Bob Van Syoc to the rescue. He looked at Roxanne’s photo and wrote, “Yes!  Sea Stars can regenerate new arms as long as the center disc is intact.  Some can lose all but one arm and survive to regrow the other four arms.  In this state they are called ‘comets’ because of the smaller arms forming the star and the larger arm the ‘tail’ of the comet.  Arms may be lost by injury (crushed by a rock) or by predators attacking them, though our Stars have few predators.”

Here's a photo Roxanne took of a happier sight - two Ochre Stars (yes, they come in different colors!), a Bat Star, Sea Anemone, and several Purple Urchins and more. A kaleidoscope of colors!

Thanks to Roxanne for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

Cool, breezy with dark clouds now and then. More weather headed our way in a couple of days.

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I love Stars but I think Bat Stars might be my favorite. Of course I'm hearing a particular song in my head right now - Batman is featured!

And here Amy photographed an Ochre Star. Heck, I love them too! They come in various colors and look like they are bedecked in jewels.

One more find for today, a Pacific Stubby Rose Anemone - isn't it beautiful?

I'll be sharing a few more of Amy's finds tomorrow.

Thanks to Amy for allowing me to share her photos with you here.

We made it through the big storm on Sunday but there are many power outages because of falling trees. The wind was particularly fierce. We didn't get nearly as much rain as those to our south. From the storm we received 2.17 inches at Rick's and my place (those up on the ridge got quite a bit more rain), season to date is 36.84. I consider 50 inches to be a "normal" wet year. We're getting there.

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Lisa wrote, "To my joy I realized it was a very low tide, so I spent an hour or so with pants rolled up trolling the tide pools and rocks, delighted by all the small wonders and beauties waiting for a curious eye to discover. Along with the array of the usual muted orange and purple starfish I found one that was a deep, bright reddish orange - absolutely stunning! It had been turned upside down by the outgoing tide and was stuck on its back, so I righted it where it would soon be doused by the salty sea goodness again." Lisa found a Bat Star.

She wrote further, "Much to my excitement I also spied two live Abalone, clinging to their exposed rocky perches, waiting out the ebb of the tide till they could hide once more in their watery world. The bigger one was about 11 inches in diameter with an opalescent sheen of soft greens and pinks."

"And then, something I've never seen at Anchor Bay Beach before - a Sea Cucumber! This one was about a foot long, orange and beige beauty."

"The tide-pools themselves were absolutely gorgeous pieces of abstract living art… What an amazing place we live in where even the bounty of the sea shares itself with us to continually inspire awe and wonder."

Thanks to Lisa for allowing me to share her photos with you here, and for her beautiful prose!

It's sunny and mild this afternoon after the cooling morning fog.

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It's so wonderful to see Sea Stars in abundance, recovering from the wasting disease. Roxanne Holmes found a baby Star, a juvenile Bat Sea Star, Patiria miniata.

Amy Ruegg went to Walk On Beach at low tide recently and she found this glorious group of Ochre Sea Stars, Pisaster ochraceus.

Thanks to Roxanne and Amy for allowing me to share their photos with you here.

We are having a sun-splashed day on the Mendonoma Coast today!

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Marilyn Green spotted this Bat Star, Patiria miniata, on the beach, rather than in the water.

Robert Van Syoc confirmed the ID and wrote, "They are common in the shallow subtidal zone along the coast. They are scavengers that can travel over sand, as well as rock bottoms.

Thanks to Marilyn for allowing me to share her photo with you  here.