Some critters that need IDs.

Chenari · Post by **Chenari** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 1:08 pm

Sounder · Post by **Sounder** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 2:38 pm

The fish look like a mix of Puget Sound Rockfish and Brown Rockfish.

I have good guesses on the other ones, but one time I ruined a game by always getting the answer posted before others could post.

FISH-O!! $\:D/$

gomi_otaku · Post by **gomi_otaku** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 8:56 pm

I'll give you #4- Kelp Isopod (idotea wosnesenskii per Welks to Whales). On the last pumpkin carve, a rather large one swam over and sat on the end of my "pumpkin" while I was cutting the stem end off- like it was waiting to go inside when I was done.
I really love that little crab, whatever kind it is.
gomi_

nwscubamom · Post by **nwscubamom** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:00 pm

By any chance are some of these from Monterey?

Gotta tell us the location!

Janna

Chenari · Post by **Chenari** » Thu Feb 07, 2008 9:24 pm

Yeah, sorry I just thought of that myself

6 and 9 are local, all others are from Monterey.

nwscubamom · Post by **nwscubamom** » Fri Feb 08, 2008 10:17 pm

hehe, yeah I kinda wondered when I saw a batstar in photo #1!!

OK, so here's my edumacated guesses:
1. Kelp Rockfish (they can be dark sometimes)
2. Possibly a Black? Looks like how a teenager-ish Black can look around here, but the anal fin looks a bit too squared off for a Black...so not positive on this one.
3. Brown Cup Coral - it's much larger than Orange cup coral. All over the place down in Monterey.
4. What Gomi said
5. No idea. Weird.
6. Pygmy crab? They hide out in little places all the time around here.
7. Looks almost like a Comb Jelly being consumed by something. Another possibility is that it's a Salp.
8. Red Ascidian or something related to that.
9. Brown Rockfish (yeah, I know there's no brown spot on the gill cover but not everyone plays by the rules)

- Janna

Chenari · Post by **Chenari** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 9:38 am

Thanks for what you can give me

dwashbur · Post by **dwashbur** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:05 am

I suspect #7 is a little too big to be a comb jelly; it was about 2 feet across, and was one of two such conglomerations we found at Point Lobos.

nwscubamom · Post by **nwscubamom** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:10 pm

A- HA! I found it for number 7! Now that I'm back home I popped open Pacific Coast Pelagic Invertebrates and there it is on page 65!

It is indeed a Comb Jelly (or Ctenophore phylum) - more specifically it's what's called a Lobate Comb Jelly - they have a pair of distinctive large lobes at the oral end of the body, and have exceedingly delicate tissue that is easily damaged (which is what you're looking at in your photo - a pretty mangled individual)

This one you have is called Leucothea pulchra and its covered with distinctive brownish orange papillae, and is extremely delicate. It is the largest and most delicate of all the shallow lobates. Eight comb rows. Range is Central California (hey, imagine that!) $\:D/$ to Sea of Cortez.

Hope this helps!

- Janna

dwashbur · Post by **dwashbur** » Sat Feb 09, 2008 10:45 pm

No doubt about it, I gotta get more books!

Thanks!

Greg Jensen · Post by **Greg Jensen** » Mon Feb 11, 2008 11:56 am

No. 4 is an eelgrass isopod, Idothea resecata. The divot on his butt is the giveaway (though clinging to eelgrass doesn't hurt, either).
The crab is Cancer oregonensis.