Whidbey Island Critters

[Jan K]

And here is another hard to identify critter:

[LCF]

Jan, if there is nothing else that has come from this long-running thread, you have certainly given ME motivation to look closely and carefully at all the dusty little nondescript things that would otherwise go unregarded as Puget Sound background noise. I am repeatedly amazed at what you see and what you share with us about it, and I am absolutely certain that the more we learn to recognize the life in the Sound, the richer each dive becomes.

[Jan K]

Thank you Lynne. I apply the old, wise quote "The more you learn, the more you realize how little you know…" to
my style of diving. Whidbey Island still supplies me with plenty of wonder and surprises, regardless how many times I don my dive gear and slip below the waves...

This is the season Lingcod do not enjoy Busy Sunday morning at the Pass...

[Jan K]

Whale bones revisited.

[Jan K]

At last round of Deception Pass dives, I found yellow variant of the "White" aka Odhner's dorid.
At the south end of Whidbey, the white color slugs are very common.


and a similar looking Monterey dorid

[LCF]

Oh, that's fascinating, Jan! I've never been sure just what those all-yellow dorids with the well-defined papules were, and thought they might be Montereys that just didn't have many "sprinkles".

[Jan K]

Oh, that's fascinating, Jan! I've never been sure just what those all-yellow dorids with the well-defined papules were, and thought they might be Montereys that just didn't have many "sprinkles".

I checked with Dave Behrens to make sure the yellow slugs were the "White nudibranchs " .

[Jan K]

some more color from the Pass

[Furnari]

Wow- as someone who has tried in vain so many times to get a decent shot of a kelp greenling, my hat is off to you

[Jan K]

Wow- as someone who has tried in vain so many times to get a decent shot of a kelp greenling,

Come to Whidbey Island, they are friendly here and like to pose

I finally found one of the " Salt and Pepper" slugs. And it was a lucky find too since my prescription mask
shattered couple days ago and I don't see much of the macro with my stand-by mask. I just saw something
white crawling, pointed and shot it hoping for best. Only back home on the computer and my glasses on
my nose I realize that I can add another critter to my list.

[Dusty2]

Nice shot on the salt and pepper nudie. I see them allot at Hudson but they are small and can be challenging to get a good shot of because of the white coloring.

[LCF]

The spotted nudi is a great find, and getting a kelp greenling to sit still that long is a coup.

But I really love the decorator crab picture, because it is so often hard to find those guys in a position that makes it clear what they are, and with a background that makes them stand out. That's a really, really nice photograph.

[Jan K]

[Jan K]

Oregon Hairy Tritons are busy ...

[Jan K]

[LCF]

I particularly love it, Jan, when you put up photos and narrative about the stuff we normally look through, around or over. Thank you for the information about the seaweed!

[Jan K]

Another visit to my favorite Whidbey site :
Another frequent visitor - Jack - retired saturation diver

Lots of silt lately, but still better than Keystone ...

[Dusty2]

What is your retired diver friend wearing??? There is certainly nothing conformist about that rig!. Is he diving in coveralls???

[Jan K]

What is your retired diver friend wearing??? There is certainly nothing conformist about that rig!. Is he diving in coveralls???

He is tougher than I am. Wetsuit under coveralls
And while I manage 65 to 70 minutes, his dives are at least 30 minutes longer !

[Jan K]

And some from the other end of Whidbey

[Dusty2]

Awesome photo work up of the Odner's Jan. They are tough to get a good photo of due to there bright colors.

[LCF]

Oh, I'm envious of the metridium picture. I keep trying to get a photograph of them, because they are so graceful and lovely, and I can never get the exposure right to get the animal well lit AND the nice, dark background. As always, well done!

[Jan K]

Little bit of predation from Deception Pass.

[LCF]

Wow, that ling's got a mouthful!

[Jan K]

Yesterday I came upon Sunflower star on top of a dorid. At first I thought it just happened to be walking by and on its way crossed path with the slug which I witnessed before, nothing unusual. I stopped and watched, the star was not going anywhere, it stayed on top of the slug. Out of curiosity I lifted the star to see if I can see its extended stomach. I was surprised to see that it was not showing the usual white stomach mass, instead I saw that the slug seemed to be releasing some kind of substance. So I asked the expert: