Up close and purple

  

I've been surveying for Purple Sea Snails (Janthina umbilicata) and encountered some washed up this morning (5 March 2024).  Janthina is rare in our area, and these snails were still alive, so I took a few photos for the record.

Remember that these snails float upside down at the surface of the ocean, hanging from their own bubble raft!  So these photos show the snails suspended below the surface of the water.

Above, note the bifurcate or forked tentacles, with one long and one shorter branch (highlighted with black pigment).

Next -- look for the large, rounded, black foot.  Janthina reaches up to collect a pocket of air and then surrounds it with mucous to create a bubble to add to its raft:

 

 

They also use their foot to smooth the bubble raft:

 

 

Janthina is a predator, feeding on By-the-wind Sailors (Velella velella) and Portuguese Man O' War (Physalia physalis) when available.  They have a tubular proboscis to reach out and grab prey, and a rasp-like tongue (radula) at the end of the proboscis: 

 

 

 

 

 

P.S.  If you happen to see Purple Sea Snails washed up on the beach this spring, I'd love to hear about your observations!

It's been a while

  

It's been a while (about 6 years!) since we've seen Purple Sea Snails (Janthina umbilicata) in Bodega Bay, but some have appeared on local beaches this week.  

The last time we observed large numbers of this species was during the 2014-2016 marine heatwaves (which included a significant El Niño).  Smaller numbers also appeared in 2017 and 2018. 

Although there is a significant El Niño this winter, we haven't observed too many biological signs of it in Northern California — i.e., in terms of marine invertebrate occurrences — at least not yet.

I don't know if these Janthina observations will be isolated or if we will continue to see them during the next several months.

The post I shared back in 2016 is a good introduction to Purple Sea Snails, so if you're interested in learning more about them you can check that out here.

These snails are pelagic — usually found offshore.  They're fragile — they don't live in an environment where they need a thick shell (they float upside down with a bubble raft at the surface of the ocean).  And they're small — most of the individuals I saw this morning were ~5 mm long (with some smaller, some larger).  The purple color is eye-catching!  I'd love to hear if you come across any in Northern California.  Watch for them washed up in the wrack line, especially perhaps on south-facing beaches, and after strong southerly or westerly winds.

 

 

P.S.  Quite a few pyrosomes have also washed up this week, along with Diphyes (a siphonophore).  I'll post some more photos soon.

 

Pelagic Red Crab update

Just a quick update about Pelagic Red Crabs (Pleuroncodes planipes).  We have continued to survey for them since the discovery of live crabs on Salmon Creek Beach on 24 January 2017.  We haven't found additional live animals, but on 4 February 2017, I found some claws and legs:

 

And a few of these:

 

This is a pellet made up of Pelagic Red Crab pieces.  (Many birds cough up pellets of indigestible prey parts.)

I'm not sure which species of bird ate these Pelagic Red Crabs, but my guess would be a gull.  Herring Gulls (Larus argentatus) and Western Gulls (Larus occidentalis) have been documented feeding on Pelagic Red Crabs in southern California during previous El Niño years (Stewart et al. 1984).

P.S.  I've written about pellets before — for examples, see "Identify the Prey in the Pellet" on 25 November 2014, and "Rounded and flattened" on 2 November 2015.

  

So cool!

 

Well, it finally happened — we found our first live Pelagic Red Crabs (Pleuroncodes planipes) in Bodega Bay!

Although we have found parts of these southern crabs a few times prior to this (in October 2015, February 2016, and earlier in January 2017), we found 19 live crabs on Salmon Creek Beach tonight.

Most of them were ~9-10 cm long (with the tail tucked underneath):

 

Here's a view from above:

 

And one in my hand (Note: they can pinch!):

 

It was very exciting to see them alive.  It appeared that they were just washing in this evening, having just been left behind by the receding waves.

Let me know if you see any on beaches near you!

For the record, we also found a half a dozen Purple Sea Snails (Janthina umbilicata) today:

 

This was somewhat unexpected.  The water has cooled down this year, and we haven't seen any Janthina in Bodega Bay since last spring.  [Interestingly, the our first sighting of Janthina last year was on 19 January 2016.  To review information about Janthina, click here.]  We have a lot to learn about the movements of these tropical species to northern waters.  

In the shadow of El Niño

After work tonight we went for a short walk on Salmon Creek Beach.  Of particular note were some claws and legs of Pelagic Red Crabs (or Tuna Crabs), Pleuroncodes planipes:

 

I posted about Pelagic Red Crabs in October 2015 and February 2016.  I had heard they were observed in San Francisco this past fall, but we didn't see any in Bodega Bay at that time.  Checking iNaturalist tonight, there are recent records for Pacific Grove, Monterey, Pescadero, and Point Reyes (from November and December 2016).  

I wonder if more will appear on local beaches during the storm this coming weekend?  Time will tell...let me know if you find any!

P.S.  The appearance of Pelagic Red Crabs north of their normal range (off Baja California) is generally associated with El Niño conditions.  Although the 2015-2016 El Niño has ended, there can be El Niño "shadows" or "lags," with some warm-water species showing up after the event has officially ended.  (I'm curious about why/how that happens!)

P-pac, Part 2

I wanted to follow up on the recent post about Paraconcavus pacificus (informally abbreviated as "P-pac") — the red-and-white barnacle found on sand dollars (and other objects in sandy areas).

After that post, several people wrote to say that they had seen these barnacles north of San Francisco this year.  These are important records for this species in north-central California, so it seemed worth sharing them with you!

#1 — Hollis discovered this specimen at Stinson Beach during the winter:

 

#2 — Jim encountered several nice specimens at Salmon Creek Beach in Bodega Bay this summer:

 

#3 — A few weeks ago, Megan photographed this specimen on a crab carapace near Drakes Estero (Point Reyes):

 

And here's one more — a picture I took at Abbotts Lagoons (Point Reyes) in November 2015.  Because there are hydroids growing on the barnacle, it makes it harder to identify the species, but I think it's likely this is also Paraconcavus pacificus:

 

Keep your eyes open for other examples.  Who can find the furthest north record?  Could they be at Manchester, MacKerricher, or even further north?  

P.S.  Many thanks to Hollis, Jim, and Megan for sharing their observations and wonderful photographs.

Unexpected plate appearance

Well, this is a story that's fun, interesting, and also humbling.  It begins with a red-and-white barnacle and a sand dollar.

Some of you might remember that we've been seeing a lot of Megabalanus californicus — a red-and-white striped barnacle that is generally uncommon in the Bodega Bay area.  It's been noticeably more common during the last few years — e.g., see the post from 1 June 2015.  Here's an example of Megabalanus growing on a California Mussel on Bodega Head:

Recently, we've seen a few sand dollars washing up on beaches with red-and-white barnacles on them.  Because of the increased abundance of Megabalanus, we didn't think too much about it.  (Mistake #1 — we didn't stop to look closely at these barnacles).

In February 2016, Alex noticed one of these sand dollar/barnacle specimens, too, and brought one in to ask us about it:

 

Well, we made the same assumption and thought the barnacles were probably Megabalanus.  (Mistake #2 — We hadn't thought about the possibility that another species of red-and-white striped barnacle could occur in this area.)  We decided to keep this specimen for documentation and put it aside.

Then Jim Carlton came to visit in September 2016.  He's interested in barnacles, so we brought out the specimen to show him.  Almost as soon as he looked at it, he said something like, "You know, there's a southern barnacle that tends to be found on sand dollars."

We looked in the Light and Smith Manual and found a description for Paraconcavus pacificus (formerly Balanus pacificus).  Sure enough, it often occurs on sand dollars, but the Manual said the geographic range was from Monterey south.

Well, we know that some southern species have been showing up during the last two warm-water years, and sometimes El Niño conditions bring "waifs" further north beyond their typical range.  So although Bodega Bay would be out of range, could these barnacles on the sand dollar be Paraconcavus pacificus?

I raised my hand lens to take a closer look:

 

And wouldn't you know it, as soon as I looked through my magnifier, I knew they weren't Megabalanus.  The wall plates were very smooth (rather than having long, vertical ridges), and the color pattern was different, with subtle horizontal stripes, too (giving it more of a "checkered" appearance).

However, since this would be a rare record in northern California, we needed confirmation.  This is where barnacle identification gets a little more complicated.  You need to look at the opercular plates — the four plates that cover the aperture or opening at the top of the barnacle.  

For reference, here's a photo of a common acorn barnacle, Balanus glandula, showing the four opercular plates — a pair of "terga" and a pair of "scuta":

The sand dollar/barnacle specimen had washed up on the beach, so I wasn't sure there would be any opercular plates left behind.  Most of the barnacle shells were empty, but I was excited to see that one barnacle appeared to have plates inside (see arrow below)!  

 

Jim asked if we could use a microscope — and if we had fine forceps — and if there was a shallow dish available.  Yes!  Then he expertly extracted three tiny plates from the barnacle.

Here's what they looked like under the microscope. [Note: One plate is shown twice (both the interior and exterior sides) because not all four plates were present.]

Views of scuta (left) and terga (right).  Scale bar at lower right is 1 mm long. 

And for comparison, here are the opercular plates of Paraconcavus pacificus illustrated in an older barnacle identification manual.  Compare the overall shapes, the textures, the ridges, and furrows against the photos above.

 

Modified from Pilsbry, H.A.  1916.  The sessile barnacles (Cirripedia) contained in the collections of the U.S. National Museum, including a monograph of the American species.   USNM Bulletin 93.

 

It's hard to believe, but as fate would have it, two of the world's leading barnacle experts were also visiting the lab that day — Bill Newman and Bob Van Syoc!  They agreed that the plates were a perfect match.  The barnacles on the sand dollar are Paraconcavus pacificus, and represent a rare record for this barnacle north of Monterey/San Francisco.

I mentioned two localities just now because although most publications list Monterey as the northern range limit for this barnacle, there are a few scattered records (either in museums, in the literature, or online) that list more northern observations:

1912 — California Academy of Sciences specimen — Ocean Beach (San Francisco)

1916 — Pilsbry questioned a specimen from Crescent City and said that the range north of Monterey needed to be investigated

1970 — Merrill and Hobson paper on sand dollars — Bodega Bay

1990 — California Academy specimen — Ocean Beach (San Francisco)

1994 — California Academy specimen — Ocean Beach (San Francisco)

1997 — Mooi paper on sand dollars — Ocean Beach (San Francisco)

2014 — iNaturalist — Ocean Beach (San Francisco)

2016 — iNaturalist — Ocean Beach (San Francisco)

2016 — iNaturalist — Point Reyes (Abbott's Lagoon?)

2016 — this record, Salmon Creek Beach, Bodega Bay

 

You can see that Paraconcavus pacificus has been known from Ocean Beach (San Francisco) for a long time, and appears to be regular there.  So far we only know of three records north of San Francisco — the note by Merrill and Hobson, the iNaturalist record for Point Reyes, and this record in Bodega Bay.

It would be very informative to hear about any other specimens of sand dollars with red-and-white striped barnacles north of San Francisco.  So let me know if you see one (and take a photo)!

P.S.  I can't help adding one more fun fact.  I learned a new word today — "vinaceous."  Pilsbry (1916) used this term to described Paraconcavus pacificus.  It means "the color of red wine."  Here's another specimen (this one collected by Eric in Baja California, Mexico, in 1998) so you can consider the color:

 

P.P.S.  Many thanks to Alex for sharing his find and to Jim, Bill, and Bob, for identification assistance.

 

A first spotting

Did you hear about the Yellow-bellied Sea Snakes (Pelamus platura) that washed ashore in Southern California?

There were several articles written about them — see examples in National Geographic, Scientific American, and The Washington Post.

With the strong El Niño conditions this winter, and hearing about these sea snake sightings, you can imagine that I've been watching the wrack line closely.  

Not too long ago, I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this on the beach:

 

I was a little hesitant, but eventually I was brave enough to flip the snake over:

 

Can you believe it?  Even rarer than a Yellow-bellied Sea Snake, this is the first sighting of a White-spotted Sea Snake (Pelamus albomaculata) in North America!

Okay, okay — April Fool!

Hope I didn't get you too excited.  (Perhaps you could tell that this snake didn't have a flattened tail, and that it was made out of rubber.  But it did make me do a double-take when I found it washed ashore!)

Enjoy the first day of April!  :)

 

Big foot captured on video

Remember the Purple Sea Snail (Janthina umbilicata) I've shown several times during the past couple of months?

During certain conditions from late January-present, we've been finding quite a few of them washed up on the beach.  On 12 March 2016, we were walking along the beach counting them, when we noticed one snail that looked similar but slightly different.

 

It was larger, paler, more compressed (flattened from top-to-bottom), with a shorter spire (the first few whorls), and it had a more substantial float.  The striations (or lines) on the shell were also different — rounded all the way around, rather than angled.

Here's the same snail from below.  Although it's completely covered with sand grains, look for the float emerging from the shell:

 

It has been interesting enough to see one species of Janthina this year...and here was a second!  Although we need to confirm the identification with an expert, my best guess right now is that this is Janthina janthina. 

We didn't know if the snail was alive, and because this species is so rare in this area, we decided to bring it back to the lab for documentation.

The snail floated in sea water, so we left it in a tank overnight.  When I arrived the next day, this is what I saw:

 

  

The snail was alive and in about 12 hours it had created an impressive float made of very large bubbles. 

Here's a view from the side in a small aquarium:

 

The online record is incomplete, but in a quick search we could only find one entry for Janthina janthina in Northern California — from 1935!  Its occurrence here this year is likely related to the current El Niño event.  We took some additional documentary photographs and video (see below).

One thing we noticed right away was how different the tentacles are between the two species.  Although they both have forked tentacles, Janthina janthina's tentacles are much more rounded.  They made us think of velvety deer antlers, or mittens (with thumbs)!

The next photo shows a close-up of the snail, emerging from its shell, with its broad foot gliding over its bubble raft.  Look for the tentacles on either side of the proboscis (left side of the photo — they almost look like lobster claws). 

 

Eric was very fortunate to capture some nice footage of Janthina janthina working on its float.  In the video clip below, watch for:

— The front of the foot expanding (tremendously!), then breaking the surface to grab a bubble of air and wrap it in mucus secreted by the foot.  (If you watch closely, you can even see the bubble below the foot as the snail attaches it to the float.)  

— The snail's large black foot gliding over the float (applying another layer of mucus?)

— A glimpse of the extended proboscis with sharp radular teeth exposed at the tip.

janthina_janthina_sanford from Jackie Sones on Vimeo.

Amazing, right?  Not many people get to see these pelagic snails in action, so we hope this helps you visualize and wonder about their lives at sea.

P.S.  If you want to review the photos and video of the first species, Janthina umbilicata, click here.

 

Epic!

Well, we couldn't resist...the conditions were just right for interesting things washing up on the beach — a storm during El Niño conditions with large waves (~14 feet) and strong southwest winds (20-30 knots).

So we went for a short walk at Salmon Creek Beach, and we weren't disappointed.  

There were By-the-wind Sailors (Velella velella), pyrosomes (Pyrosoma), gelatinous pseudoconchs of Corolla spectabilis, three species of siphonophores (Chelophyes, Diphyes, Physophora), and two species of pelagic barnacles (Lepas and Dosima).  

And we can now say that 2016 is an "epic" year for Purple Sea Snails (Janthina umbilicata) in Bodega Bay.  There were hundreds of them washing ashore today.

I know I've posted about Purple Sea Snails several times during the past six weeks, but it seems important to document their appearance in Northern California this year (and they're fascinating animals, so there's a lot to learn about them!).

Below are two examples, each with three snails.  Can you find them among the Velella?

 

 

Now that you've had some practice, how many Purple Sea Snails can you find in the picture below?

 

It takes a bit of searching for that distinctive purple color.  And learning that they're lighter on one side (the spire side that floats downward) and darker on the other (the large whorl that floats upward).

Here's the same picture with the snails circled in yellow:

 

If you missed the snail in the upper right corner, don't worry!  You'd eventually find it with practice.

I think you can tell from these pictures that many Velella washed ashore today — we estimated millions.  Although a good number of Velella were ~1 cm long (see photos above), many were only 1-2 mm long (see next photo, with one Purple Sea Snail surrounded by uncountable masses of juvenile Velella):

 

Stormy conditions are expected to continue this week.  If you're at the beach, be safe around the large waves.  If you spot any Purple Sea Snails, I'd love to hear about it.

 

El Niño waves hello

Around here this winter El Niño has meant just a "tiny" bit more wave energy.

Check out today's west swell (the offshore buoy was reading ~17 feet):

 

 

 

 

This Brown Pelican was "surfing" the wind off the waves.  It provides some scale for these impressive wave faces.  [By the way, this is a real, full-size pelican.  :)   Brown Pelicans are ~4 feet (1.2 meters) long and they have a wing span of ~7 feet (2.1 meters).]

Storm-driven

 

Yes!  We found an entire Pelagic Red Crab (Pleuroncodes planipes)!  This one was washed ashore on Salmon Creek Beach on 18 February 2016.  (It appeared to be a molt.)

Last fall, on 19 October 2015 (review that post here), we discovered two Pelagic Red Crab claws, but this is the first time we've found a whole Pelagic Red Crab (also known as a Tuna Crab) in Bodega Bay.

This species rarely makes it to Northern California.  It's only happened in a few warm-water years.  I did a quick search on the Internet tonight, and it sounds like Pelagic Red Crabs might have been spotted in Washington in December 2015, but we'll have to inquire about whether that record has been confirmed.

It's been stormy recently.  Wave heights were about 16 feet tonight.  Winds were mostly from the southeast, veering towards west late in the day.  Rain showers have been sliding by, bringing ~0.5 inch of rain during the last two days.  Here are a couple of pictures of today's conditions:

 

 

A record from the buoy

 

Check it out!  A Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster) was spotted in Tomales Bay during an Audubon Canyon Ranch waterbird survey on 6 February 2016.  

Although quite a few Brown Boobies have been reported from the Farallon Islands during the last couple of years (up to 30 individuals in one day!), this is the first record of a Brown Booby in Tomales Bay.

Some of you probably noticed that this bird is sitting on an oceanographic buoy.  The buoy is maintained by UC Davis' Bodega Marine Laboratory.  Although sensors on the buoy are probably recording water conditions associated with El Niño, I'm guessing no one thought it would provide a biological record like this!

Although data collected at the buoy are not available right now, you can read more about the buoy here, and older data are available here.

Many thanks to Roger Harshaw for allowing me to share his wonderful photos.