Tag Archives: Carol Preston

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Steve Coffee-Smith sent in a photo of an unusual fish. Steve wrote, “Our group of family and friends went to Bowling Ball Beach. We found this fish, maybe three inches long, on the newly exposed rocks in the lowering tide. We tried to scoop him up in order to return him to deeper water, but he was stuck to the rock.”

Carol Preston of NOAA knew the ID of the fish. Carol wrote, “It is a Clingfish, Gobiesox maeandricus. They use their ‘suction cup,’ which is their pelvic fins fused together, to cling to the undersides of rocks in the tidepools. They mainly eat small crustaceans and molluscs.”

Thanks to Carol for the ID, and thanks to Steve for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

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Mel Smith photographed this red Crab, which was inadvertently caught by a fisherman at the end of the Point Arena Pier.

I sent Mel’s photo to Carol Preston of NOAA. She wrote back, “It’s a Kelp Crab, Pugettia producta. It has two color morphs, red or olive green. This is a red color morph.” Mel said he has seen the green ones, but this is his first sighting of a red Kelp Crab.

Thanks to Carol for her expertise, and thanks to Mel for allowing me to share his photo with you here.

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You never know what you might see on the beach. We had some high surf several weeks ago due to the remnants of a hurricane. Marilyn Green wrote, “Here is a comical and almost friendly green crab on Pebble Beach, The Sea Ranch. I certainly enjoyed ‘meeting’ this creature.”

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I sent Marilyn’s photo to Carol Preston of NOAA. She wrote, “It is a Lined shore crab, Pachygrapsus crassipes. It is fairly common in the high tide zone. This particular one is especially beautiful.”

This small crab is found from Oregon to Baja California.

Thanks to Marilyn for allowing me to share her photo.

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Several unusual creatures washed up on Tide Pool Beach at The Sea Ranch recently, discovered by the Sarkisian family of Portland, Oregon. Christy Sarkisian wrote, “There were several sea-looking centipedes that washed up on July 3rd. In 20 years of coming to Sea Ranch we have never seen anything like it. They were like a centipede with thousands of legs, but on the side of their bodies, wiggling. They were unable to really move on the sand at all.

Mussel Worm, Nereis vexillosa, by Christy Sarkisian (1024x768)

“They were green in color and light red on their undersides. Of the four that washed up, they varied in size from 12 to 36 inches, all curled up. One rode the tide out, and seemed to swim away like an eel.”

Two Mussel Worms, Nereis vexillosa, by Christy Sarkisian

Local diver Eric Anderson knew they were worms, guessing Clam worms. Carol Preston of NOAA believes they were Mussel worms, Nereis vexillosa. She wrote, “I have seen them a few times, but not often. They can get quite big, and they mainly feed on other worms.”

Thanks to Christy for allowing me to share her photos with you here. It's fun to learn more about the fascinating creatures that live in the ocean.