New to the north?

  

Abby wrote to let us know she had observed an unusual flatworm on 17 June 2026.  Amazingly, we encountered what looks like the same species in a different location on 20 June 2026.  Both were found along the rocky shore in the low intertidal zone.

We think this is Stylochus franciscanus, although it's a new species for us, so we're open to feedback.

There are two flatworm species that apparently look similar but differ in subtle ways.  For example, Stylochus franciscanus has marginal eyes that only extend ~1/4 of the way along the perimeter of the body, while Stylochus californicus has marginal eyes that extend along the entire perimeter.  And the tentacles of Stylochus franciscanus are closer to the anterior margin vs. farther from the margin in Stylochus californicus.  See illustrations below (modified from Libbie Hyman's 1953 account of flatworms in California -- see a photo of Libbie in this post):

 

 

 

Because both of these flatworms are unusual in northern California, we documented this individual with a microscope video (below).

 

In the video clip, watch for several features: 

- an overall pattern of lighter and darker brown spots

- at 18-20 seconds, you can see the marginal eyes (tiny black dots) along the margins, but only at the anterior/head end

- at ~30 seconds, note the pair of transparent nuchal tentacles that are relatively close to the anterior margin

- at ~38-40 seconds, a head-on view shows the clusters of cerebral eyes (black dots) *within* the nuchal tentacles (!)

 

 

Stylochus franciscanus records primarily come from San Francisco Bay and the central and southern California coasts.  From what we can tell so far, these are the first records north of San Francisco (although we need to do additional research to confirm the distribution records).  

 

With many thanks to Abby for alerting us to the presence of this species in Marin County and to Eric for capturing and editing the video footage. 

P.S.  If you can't see the video player in the e-mail message, click on the title of the blog post to go to the NHBH website to see the video.

P.P.S.  Fun fact -- "franciscanus" in the species name likely refers to San Francisco Bay, as the first specimens used to describe the species were collected from locations within the Bay.

P.P.P.S.  If you happen to see this flatworm north of Bodega Bay, we'd love to hear about it/see photos!

P.P.P.P.S.  Happy summer!  :) 

Reading the shells?

  

While in Monterey last weekend, we were thinking about southern species that might become more common farther north if a major El Niño event arrives this fall/winter.  For fun, while walking the beach we gathered some shells and ended up with 11 of these species.  We used all of them to spell out El Niño in the photo above.

Three barnacles: Megabalanus tintinnabulum, Paraconcavus pacificus, Tetraclita rubescens

Six snails: Acanthinucella punctulata, Californiconus californicus, Hespererato vitellina, Atrimitra (formerly Mitra) idae, Pseudomelatoma torosa, Pseudopusula (formerly Trivia) californiana

Two limpets: Fissurella volcano, Lottia gigantea

You can click on the image above for a larger version, and here's an example with labels, a close-up of the "E":

 

 

 

P.S.  If you're interested, you can follow NOAA's El Niño predictions at this link (updated monthly). 

Love for the oceans

  

Seemed like this photo could be appropriate for World Oceans Day (8 June 2026).  

A heart from and for the ocean!

Here's the entire animal:

 

The heart shape surprised us, as the central opening on the underside of a sand dollar is usually circular.  But this skeleton broke in just the right way to create a perfect heart.  Pacific Sand Dollar (Dendraster excentricus) photographed in Marin County on 22 May 2026.

Sharing our thanks and love for all of the Earth's oceans. 

The colors of the sky...

  

...in a shell!  

Two close-ups of the inside of an abalone shell.  

I thought the first one (above) looked like an aurora, while the second (below) was more like a sunset.

[You can click on them for larger versions.] 

 

 

 

 Photographed in Monterey County on 6 June 2026.   

Flotilla

  

We were in Monterey yesterday (5 June 2026) for a concert, but we drove down early to spend a little time along the coast.  Here's a nice seascape including a flotilla of sea otters in the kelp offshore from Pacific Grove.  [You can click on the photo for a larger version.]

Yellow-bellied

  

A quick look at a Western Yellow-bellied Racer (Coluber constrictor mormon) this afternoon (3 June 2026)

With its head raised, the nice yellow color on the underside was easy to see:

 

 

Golden-edged and fine-lined

  

It's hard to believe that this striking flatworm remains undescribed.  Abby noticed it in the low intertidal zone last week and Eric was able to get some video for documentation (see video clip below).

This flatworm is listed in the Intertidal Invertebrates of California (Morris, Abbott, and Haderlie 1980) as Eurylepta sp.  They didn't include an actual photo, but instead represented this species with a painting.  The colors are a little different, but I think you'll see the resemblance:

 

Modified slightly from Morris, Abbott, and Haderlie (1980) 

 

There have been more recent discussions regarding whether this flatworm is in the genus Prostheceraeous, but at this time we can't locate a reference to cite for that, so we'll just say that it's in the Euryleptidae family.

 

There are only a few records of this species in Marin County, and none that we know of north of there.  Most observations are in the Monterey area and farther south. 

 

If you happen to see one, we'd love to see photos and to hear about other records. 

 

And now for the video!  Eric put together a few clips so you can appreciate the color pattern and the flowing movements of this flatworm.  [If you're reading this in an e-mail, click on the title of the post above to go directly to the NHBH website to see the video player.]

 

 

 

With many thanks to Abby for sharing her observation and to Eric for creating the video!