The White Wolf

  

Another beautiful denizen of the dunes on Cape Cod...a Shoreline Wolf Spider (Arctosa littoralis).  

Such amazing camouflage!

This individual seemed very pale, so we started calling it the "White Wolf."  

Here's a closer, head-on view:

 

 

P.S.  Thanks to Eric for his patience and these great photos!  

Starting the journey

  

Sharing another terrapin photo and a short video clip (below).

In the photo above you can see this hatchling's egg tooth.  If you look closely at the very tip of the snout, you can see a pale sharp point.  The egg tooth helps the hatchling break out of the shell.  Later the egg tooth will fall off.

We also have a short video clip of the turtle as it starts on its journey from the nesting area to the salt marsh.  You'll see the turtle blinking, breathing, looking around, and pushing through the sand.  [If you can't see a video player in the e-mail message, click on the title of the post to go to the NHBH website.]

Good luck, little one!

P.S.  With thanks to Eric for editing the video clip! 

Along the edge of the pond

  

I can't take any credit for this post.  Melissa spotted these wonderful hatchling Eastern Musk Turtles (Sternotherus odoratus) and Eric took some great photos.  I just get to share them with you!

Above, a hatchling swimming over the sandy bottom of a coastal plain pond on Cape Cod.

Next, a closer view under water:

 

 

 

And a close-up where you can observe some important features.  I hadn't seen a musk turtle hatchling before, so I didn't know their facial stripes were more prominent than in adults.  Also note the short pointed snout, the webbed feet, and the yellowish spots along the edges of the marginal scutes.  

 

 

 

Eastern Musk Turtles are small turtles.  The hatchlings we observed today had shell lengths of only about 2.5 cm (1 inch). 

 

It's been years since I've seen this species.  Thanks again to Melissa (and Squashy and Smokey) for sharp eyes and local knowledge and to Eric for the camera skills! 

 

P.S.  For more info about musk turtles, click here.

  

Terrapin station

  

Had some luck on a late afternoon walk on Cape Cod today (22 September 2025).  We crossed paths with a couple of beautiful Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) hatchlings.

I'm running out of time tonight, but I couldn't resist sharing a couple of photos.  These are small turtles, with shell lengths of only ~3 cm long.

 

 

Curious?  You can learn more about these salt marsh turtles here.

 

Following the path

  

While walking in Wellfleet, MA, yesterday (29 September 2022) every now and then we noticed these tracks crossing the sand.  

I had an idea about the animal responsible for them and I was hopeful that we might find one, but for a while we just keep running across more tracks:

 

 

We were just about to give up when we finally found the individual that made some of the tracks:

 

 

Yes!  I hadn't seen one for years, but this is a Northern Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin) hatchling.

These turtles live in salt marshes on Cape Cod and the young turtles emerge from nests at this time of year.

Here's a view of the hatchling from the side:

 

 

And another view from above, this time with a ruler for scale.  The turtle's shell is only ~2.5 cm long:

 

 

Turtles are one of the groups of animals that led me down the natural history path, so I was glad to spend a few moments with this little terrapin.

Bear-ly

Well, I was thinking about posting some audio files tonight, but Game 7 of the World Series was a little distracting.  :)

I was trying to come up with a way to congratulate the Cubs.  Unfortunately, I don't have any digital photos of bears, so this is pushing it a bit — or a lot — but here's a picture of a Brown Elfin butterfly perched on Bearberry (Arctostaphylos uva-ursi).  BEARberry.  Get it?  :)

 

  

Hats off to a great World Series!

P.S.  This picture was taken in Truro, MA.

Between showers

It was a rainy day on the Outer Cape, but we had a few interesting observations between showers:

 

Salt marsh near Boatmeadow Creek in Eastham, with Cape Cod Bay in the background

In the late afternoon, we walked the edge of a different salt marsh near Uncle Tim's Bridge in Wellfleet.  Along with the beautiful colors of the grasses in Duck Creek, we came upon the following:

 

Juvenile Mud Fiddler Crab (Uca pugnax)

 

 Egg shells of a Diamondback Terrapin (Malaclemys terrapin)

 

Hundreds of small, silvery fish at the upper edge of the marsh.  Perhaps they were stranded by the high tide?  

Here's a close-up:

 

My best guess on the identity of this fish is a juvenile Menhaden (Brevoortia tyrannus) — growing up, we called them Pogies.  If you can confirm, or have a different guess, let me know.

I didn't get any pictures, but we also had nice views of terns, jaegers, shearwaters, and Gray Seals off Lecount Hollow Beach in Wellfleet.

Not too bad for a stormy September day!

Nostalgia

 

Pretty amazing, isn't it?  I love the abstract patterns created by the septa, or internal walls of this barnacle's plates.  It's like a maze.

Not all barnacles look like this.  And this barnacle isn't one you're likely to encounter very often.  Meet Chelonibia testudinaria.  If you're familiar with Greek and Latin, by looking at the scientific name you'll be able to tell where this species of barnacle lives — they grow on sea turtles!

So why am I showing a turtle barnacle tonight?  Well, it's a long story.  I didn't find it locally — the one in this picture is from Massachusetts.  But it would be possible to find Chelonibia here, although it would be rare.  During the last few days I haven't been able to get out in the field much, and I've been feeling nostalgic.  I'm usually in New England for the holidays, and unfortunately, I can't be there this year.

And not long ago I read in The New York Times about the record number of sea turtles strandings on Cape Cod this year.  Before I started working in California, I helped out with those strandings, so I've been thinking about sea turtles and turtle barnacles.

Although sea turtle strandings are much rarer in northern California, they do occur — I showed one on 18 September 2013, and a green turtle was caught off San Francisco this year.  So here are a few sea turtle photos.  They're all from New England.  These individuals were cold-stunned, washed up on beaches, and then were transferred to the New England Aquarium in Boston for rehabilitation.

 

Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas)

 

Kemp's Ridley Turtle (Lepidochelys kempii)

 

Loggerhead Turtle (Caretta caretta)

 

To read more about the 2014 Cape Cod sea turtle strandings, click here. 

P.S.  I hope you enjoyed the Solstice!

 

Fiddler on the sand

 

Sand Fiddler Crab (Uca pugilator) in Chatham, MA

Fiddler crabs are known for their "waving displays" when courting females — a male waves its oversized claw while standing near its burrow entrance.  Although this male crab isn't waving its large left claw, it seemed appropriate to discuss this topic as we're waving goodbye to New England and returning to California tomorrow.  We wish the two coasts weren't so far apart!

A shocking discovery

 

We were walking along the inside of South Beach in Chatham today and discovered this unusual animal washed up on the sand.  You can see that it had the attention of both Eric and a young gull!

Here's a closer view from the side:

 

This is an Atlantic Torpedo Ray (Torpedo nobiliana).  I remembered that they sometimes strand on Cape Cod beaches in the fall, but I'm not sure if anyone has figured out why.  This individual was about 4 feet long.

Note the very circular shape and the relatively straight front edge of the disc.  The tail is short and the caudal fin (tail fin) is large and paddle-shaped (see below).

 

Torpedo rays are sometimes called electric rays.  They have electric organs that produce powerful electric shocks that stun their prey (primarily fish).

I found a couple of good fact sheets about Atlantic Torpedo Rays online.  If you're interested in learning more about them, check out the FLMNH Ichthyology Department web site or this page from The Shark Trust.

Traveling day

Today was mostly a traveling day, but below are a few images from brief stops here and there along the way:

 

 Close-up of Common Green Darner (Anax junius) in Walpole, MA

 

A wonderful jumping spider with bright emerald green palps!  The next picture shows the same spider from above.  These were taken in North Eastham, MA.

 

 

Sunset over Cape Cod Bay