Okay, so this is a story about some photos that didn't quite work out. And a follow-up when I was surprised when the same species showed up in a couple of other photos and I hadn't even realized they were there!
I was trying to photograph this small amphipod (Thorlaksonius sp., formerly Pleustes sp.) resting on algae. They have an unusual shape — rounded at one and and pointed at the other — which makes them look like snails. (Indeed, it's thought that this amphipod has evolved to mimic snails to avoid attention from visual predators like fish.)
I wasn't having much luck with the first one (above), but then I found another so tried again. Still not a great photo as I was only able to photograph it from above:
Here's one while I was trying to photograph a Ten-tentacled Sea Anemone (Halcampa decemtentaculata):
Later I was trying to photograph a sculpin. Can you find the amphipod in the photo below?
Yes, that's it, sitting on the back of the fish. It's small, with red, white, and pink stripes, and it's resting on the wide pale stripe in the middle of the fish.
Hmmpph! I'll have to keep my eye out for them the next time we're at this site. And I learned a lot about the variable color patterns of this amphipod species, even if I missed them in the field.
1 comment:
I didn't see it in the second photo until I looked at the larger version of the photo, and then it leaped out at me. Wow!
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