A fish sampler?

  

Got lucky and noticed this River Otter (Lontra canadensis) at the north end of Bodega Harbor on my way back from the post office today (14 October 2024).  The otter was having a lot of luck, too -- I saw it catch at least three fish in a very short time!  Above, with a flatfish...

Below, with some sort of gunnel?  (Let me know if you can tell what it is!)

 

 

 

The otter spent most of its time fishing and swimming or resting at the surface:

 

 

 

 

It also came close to shore a few times, shook, and had a look around:

 

 

 

I suppose their long whiskers are helpful for locating fish under water, but sometimes I'm still surprised at their skill and success.

 

A glimpse of green

 

Isn't that an amazing color?  Some people have called it "grass-green."

Do you know what type of animal this is?

The next image provides a more complete view:

 

This fish was swimming in and out among the Feather Boa Kelp fronds.

My best guess is that it's a Penpoint Gunnel (Apodichthys flavidus).  I had a little trouble with it, because there aren't many gunnels with horizontal stripes from the mouth to the eye.  I eventually found one reference that mentioned juvenile Penpoint Gunnels can have that type of marking.  However, if you think it's a different species, just let me know!

A couple of interesting facts about Penpoint Gunnels:

- After the female lays a cluster of eggs, the male will guard them for ~2.5 months until they hatch.

- They're known for displaying a dynamic color polymorphism.  Individuals can be green, red, or brown.  One research study figured out that the color depends on where the juvenile fish settles and how much light is available — that is, if it settles high in the intertidal zone in shallow water, it will be green; but if it settles low in deeper water, it will be red-brown.  (It doesn't matter what type of algae is in the background.)

 

Watch for these beautiful eel-like fish among the seaweeds and cobbles along the shore.