Northwest Dive Club

A photosynthesizing animal . . . and the lines blur further. Fascinating information, Jan!

Ratfish "airshow"

Awesome on the ratfish Jan. One thing I really love about them is that they only use their pectoral fins for swiming as though they are actually flying. I really like them fish

Norris: Just as well that you like them. Their Puget Sound population continues to grow. I read one recent report which claims the ratfish's biomass exceeds that of any other fish in the sound.
-Curt

I love ratties . . . one of the things we've discovered about them is that they are translucent. Shine an HID light close to them, and you can see through the entire fish!

One of my phenomenal memories of the late great Edmonds Oil Dock was seeing a ratfish feeding frenzy one day under the metal part. There was a huge cluster of big feather duster tubeworms, and those ratfish were going to town on them like there was no tomorrow. It was just about the most amazing thing I have seen underwater to date. Great photo essay as usual, Jan!

One spot at Possession Fingers had about a dozen of these Flabellinas ...

This is by far my most favorite thread so I'm sorry to have to disagree with the master

Because these are such great photos it makes the ID allot easier. I'm going with Flabellina trophina on these guys Jan. The head shape is very distinctive with it's pronounced snout as are the oral tentacles and rinophores which are much longer and more pointed also the rinophores are smooth rather than verrucose as they would be with verrucosa (hence the name). A very common mistake with these two critters as they are quite similar and Verrucosa does tend to be allot more common in our waters.

PS, That air show montage is AWESOME!

One of my favorite nudi's! And unless I have also been mistaken in my previous ID I have to concur - Flabellina triophina.

Not the first time I am wrong. And if I keep at it, probably not the last time.
I appreciate your help, I surely don't want to spread a wrong critter identification.
Here is the correction:

Great shots on those Jan. So crisp and clear. Love the little lights in their heads!

Of course I have never made a wrong ID ever!!!

Thanks Dusty. Serves me right hurrying on this last night. If I payed more attention I would know,
that in Dave's Eastern Pacific Nudibranchs the Red Flabellina is Long-mouthed Aeolid. And the
slugs do have long snouts ....

For heaven's sake, Jan, don't feel the least bit bad!

This is an ID mistake we would all be inclined to make . . . having the clear photos, and the correction, might make us stop and say, "Wow, if Jan could be unsure about this one, I'd better be pretty careful about making positive ID."

Breaking up a fight .
Lots of skinny legs on the walls of Possession Point Fingers...

It makes you wonder how they ever get all those long legs disentangled, doesn't it?

Jan, you continue being an inspiration for us all. Your creativity is unique and brings another view to the scene.


-Curtis

Thanks for kind words Curtis, Whidbey diving misses you...
And now from the annals of marine biologists and their pets

Joel Hedgepeth was listed as the editor of my first book on marine biology, "Between Pacific Tides" (1969 ed.) By all accounts he was quite a character. And Jan, the other Curtis got it right.
-Curt (actually Curtiss)

Little nudibranchs eating little sea pens ...

Really cool how you can actually see the pen inside a couple of them!

Still having hard time to get the right exposure on these shiny fish ...
They don't stick ( ) around at the same spot for second try.

Those are amazing pictures of an amazing fish. The only time I remember seeing them was in Cranberry Lake in Deception Pass State Park (a long time ago). Do you commonly see them, or is this an unusual sighting? Not only do they adapt to a variety of habitats, but the reported reproductive behavoir is unusual. The male builds an elaborate nest, kind of like a quonset hut, and stays to guard the eggs and hatchlings.
Inspired work, Jan.
-Curt

Jan, my hat is off to you in a big, sweeping bow of respect and amazement -- those last pictures are incredible, both because they are great pictures, and because getting that kind of photo from tiny, active fish is an incredible accomplishment! (Says Lynne, who takes pictures of starfish and nudibranchs, because they can't move very fast . . . )

Thanks Curt, I see them now and then in Lagoon Point, not so rare, although I find it always
very hard to photograph, they tend to be very skittish when I aim my camera at them...

Thank you Lynne, many, many attempts end in the trash bin.... I too like the more cooperative
critters, like the tunicates, which managed to cross the ocean from the South China Sea, but do
sit still when I press the shutter

And another tunicate story.
Courtesy of tunicate expert Gretchen Lambert explaining why some of the
Brooding Transparent Tunicates I photographed are loaded with brown stuff
and others are not. The poop.