Leggy

A couple of nights ago I promised to share more information about this sea spider:

 

We're slowly trying to document the diversity of local sea spiders.  Maddy spotted this one in July and we hadn't knowingly observed this species yet, so Eric took some photos for the record.  Meet Ammothea hilgendorfi!  The entire sea spider is ~12 mm across (from leg tip to leg tip).

 

Sea spiders aren't necessarily easy to photograph, but these are terrific shots (thanks to Eric's patience!).

Below is a series of images showing some of the distinguishing features used to identify Ammothea hilgendorfi to species.  First, a diagram so you know what to look for:

Modified from Cole, Leon J. 1904. Pycnogonida of the west coast of North America. Harriman Alaska Expedition, Volume 10: pp. 249-298. 

Look for the eyes (two are visible from the side, a pair of circles on a small raised cone) and the abdomen (also a raised projection, at the end opposite the eyes):

 

Next, here's a view of the proboscis.  Look for the large white tubular structure projecting forward — it's below and extends out in front of the eyes.  The proboscis is used in feeding (suctioning and pumping). Although it's not visible, there's a small, triangular mouth at the far end of the proboscis.  (Sea spiders are parasitic on other animals like hydroids, bryozoans, and sea anemones.)

 

Eric also captured a nice view of one of the claws (at the tip of a leg).  It reminded me of the claw of a sloth — useful for grasping limbs.  In this case the sea spider might hold on to the branches of colonial animals such as hydroids:

 

You can compare the photos of these features to the diagram above to see that they are a good match for this species.

Many thanks to Maddy for spotting this intriguing pycnogonid and to Eric for the photos!

 

Celebrating eight

For 8/8: a beautiful local pycnogonid (sea spider)!

 

I'm running out of time tonight, but we'll share more information about this species soon!

August, otherwise known as Fogust

We often see quite a bit of fog in August and the first week of the month as been true to form.  Here's a fog bank off Bodega Head from 2 August 2020:

 

And here's another view of one of the Bull Kelp patches near shore.  Conditions were good for seeing the damping effect of the kelp — note the difference in surface waves outside of the kelp (top half of the photo) vs. inside (bottom half of the photo):

 

Not quite done yet

 

Nice to see some color in the salt marsh — Sea Lavender (Limonium californicum), 3 August 2020.

 

In on the fun

During the last few days, there have been large schools of bait fish near shore.  The last time this happened, it turned out to be Night Smelt (Spirinchus starksi), e.g., see these posts from August 2018 — "Getting into a good school?" and "Fish, fish, fish!".  I haven't been able to identify the fish yet this time, but I started reviewing my photos from 1 August 2020 and there were some fun ones:

 

 

 

 

 

In order of appearance: Brown Pelican (Pelecanus occidentalis) and Caspian Terns (Hydroprogne caspia) with fish...then Heermann's Gulls (Larus heermanni) chasing a tern (trying to make the tern drop the fish) and finally a Heermann's Gull trying to pull a fish out of a pelican's pouch.  More photos to come!

 

Into the fog

We had to do some work during the early morning today, but afterwards we were rewarded with a nice view of a Barn Owl (Tyto alba):

 

There was dense fog at the coast, so you could see moisture in the owl's feathers.

As the owl flew off into the fog, it looked like an apparition, making us wonder if it had really been there or not:

 

Thanks, Tyto!

 

2+2+2

 

Two Semipalmated Plovers (dark breast band, more uniform back color), two Least Sandpipers (smaller, browner, on the left), and two Western Sandpipers (upper right), 1 August 2020