Can anyone ID this inch-long "bug?"

Matt S. · Post by **Matt S.** » Sun Sep 09, 2007 11:00 pm

There were a million of these guys on the buoy ropes out at Blakely Harbor. I didn't even notice that they were alive and not the usual crud until they were all over my gloves. Out of the water, they moved kind of like an inchworm.

Now that I look more closely at my photo I see that they are on my gloves in various sizes. An inch looks like as big as I saw--that's the one standing up.

Jan K · Post by **Jan K** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 6:23 am

Looks like the Alaskan Skeleton shrimp (Caprella alaskana) or one of similar species. Not really a shrimp -it is amphipod.

Chris · Post by **Chris** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 6:58 am

http://www.oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explo ... llid2.html

Matt S. · Post by **Matt S.** » Mon Sep 10, 2007 10:34 am

That must be it, thanks!

I wish I had more time to get better photos. They were seriously weird looking.

thelawgoddess · Post by **thelawgoddess** » Tue Sep 11, 2007 11:37 pm

i saw my first one of these this weekend, too. it was on my mask strap - i thought it was a bit of seaweed and was about to flick it off when i decided i should look closer. they are definitely weird-looking! and difficult to photograph! but here is one of the clearer shots i managed to get:

<a href="" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1272/136 ... 0b4101.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Skeleton Shrimp (Caprella bathytatos)"></a>

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:00 am

Nice Pic LG!! Beautifully clear!!

thelawgoddess · Post by **thelawgoddess** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:11 am

yeah; thanks! but i probably took at least 15 to get that one. (thank the gods for digital cameras!)

Post by **Sea of Green** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 2:15 am

thelawgoddess wrote:i saw my first one of these this weekend, too. they are definitely weird-looking! and difficult to photograph!

They're even more difficult to get off your gear. They cling tenaciously, especially to neoprene! I've even heard of them living through a gear rinse only to come back to life the next time the gear was exposed to seawater.

jeff98208 · Post by **jeff98208** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 6:23 am

now that sounds like a cool trick. rinse and expose gear to salt water again and they're back to life. $\:D/$

John Rawlings · Post by **John Rawlings** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 7:11 am

thelawgoddess wrote:i saw my first one of these this weekend, too. it was on my mask strap - i thought it was a bit of seaweed and was about to flick it off when i decided i should look closer. they are definitely weird-looking! and difficult to photograph! but here is one of the clearer shots i managed to get:

<a href="" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1272/136 ... 0b4101.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="Skeleton Shrimp (Caprella bathytatos)"></a>

Now THAT is a beautiful photo, Kaia! I've probably seen thousands of these little buggers over the years and it never even occurred to me to photograph them. Now that I know how beautiful they are close up I think that I'll give it a try!

Hmmmm....I think that a Nikkor 105 mm would do quite nicely!

- John

thelawgoddess · Post by **thelawgoddess** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 9:43 am

yeah; john, all i was using was my little canon sd700 is - a real camera with a real lens might produce something pretty amazing! i was actually about to toss him back in the water when someone said i should take a picture of him. so i tried - mostly unsuccessfully. thank god the canon's can handle their macros fairly well, though - i just had to get the ambient light right to get it to focus correctly and bring out the details.

once his thrashing about spurned me to believe he was in great suffering and needed to be returned to the water, i had him removed from my mask. they do hold on quite well, and i believe he actually lost a leg in the process ... which someone assured me would grow back.

Post by **Sea of Green** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 11:43 am

jeff98208 wrote:now that sounds like a cool trick. rinse and expose gear to salt water again and they're back to life. $\:D/$

But then, I'm kinda the same way, I "dry out" between dives and come back to life when exposed to seawater again...

Tom Nic · Post by **Tom Nic** » Wed Sep 12, 2007 12:07 pm

Sea of Green wrote:
jeff98208 wrote:now that sounds like a cool trick. rinse and expose gear to salt water again and they're back to life. $\:D/$
But then, I'm kinda the same way, I "dry out" between dives and come back to life when exposed to seawater again...

Pez7378 · Post by **Pez7378** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 4:41 pm

Sea of Green wrote: I've even heard of them living through a gear rinse only to come back to life the next time the gear was exposed to seawater.

Don't let Wham-O hear about this. I was too young but some of you may remember their Instant Fish fiasco in the 60's? Seems they had an idea for a toy based on fish from Africa that would lay eggs before the drought. The eggs would remain dormant in the dry lake bed until the next rainy season. The lake would fill up and Voila! Instant fish.

Wham-O had millions of orders but they couldnt produce enough fish eggs and the idea flopped. (history lesson courtesy of Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader!)

Hmmmm, maybe we're on to something...............

airsix · Post by **airsix** » Thu Sep 20, 2007 5:09 pm

Sea of Green wrote:They're even more difficult to get off your gear. They cling tenaciously, especially to neoprene! I've even heard of them living through a gear rinse only to come back to life the next time the gear was exposed to seawater.

I've never seen one of those, but gearing up for a freshwater dive here in the desert this summer I found a small barnacle attached to my harness webbing. He must have picked me as his new home that week we went diving together in July when my gear and I were wet for a full week. Man, I loved that. The barnacle was probably doing fine too until the end of the week when I headed East.

Post by **Sea of Green** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 2:34 am

airsix wrote:
Sea of Green wrote:They're even more difficult to get off your gear. They cling tenaciously, especially to neoprene! I've even heard of them living through a gear rinse only to come back to life the next time the gear was exposed to seawater.
I've never seen one of those, but gearing up for a freshwater dive here in the desert this summer I found a small barnacle attached to my harness webbing. He must have picked me as his new home that week we went diving together in July when my gear and I were wet for a full week. Man, I loved that. The barnacle was probably doing fine too until the end of the week when I headed East.

They are much more prevalent in the northern waters outside Puget Sound, from BC north, although I do remember one or two dives around here where I came out covered with the nasty little things.

Post by **Sea of Green** » Fri Sep 21, 2007 2:39 am

Pez7378 wrote:
Sea of Green wrote: I've even heard of them living through a gear rinse only to come back to life the next time the gear was exposed to seawater.
Don't let Wham-O hear about this. I was too young but some of you may remember their Instant Fish fiasco in the 60's? Seems they had an idea for a toy based on fish from Africa that would lay eggs before the drought. The eggs would remain dormant in the dry lake bed until the next rainy season. The lake would fill up and Voila! Instant fish. Wham-O had millions of orders but they couldnt produce enough fish eggs and the idea flopped. (history lesson courtesy of Uncle Johns Bathroom Reader!)

Hmmmm, maybe we're on to something...............

Hula-Hoops and "Sea Monkeys" I remember, but not that.

Fishstiq · Post by **Fishstiq** » Sat Sep 22, 2007 12:58 pm

Do they grab skin? I see them on my gear almost every time I stop to catch my breath at a buoy or descend a line with any kelp on it. I think they live mostly on kelp near the surface, so swim through some of the bull kelp beds during a surface swim and you are guaranteed to have hitch hikers!