BajaNomad

Critters

Don Alley - 5-1-2006 at 06:00 AM

Don Alley - 5-1-2006 at 06:49 AM

? ? ?

djh - 5-1-2006 at 07:08 AM

Are those a type of starfish?

I'm a "bugs rights" kind of guy... (to a degree... I do catch and release spiders...).

But.... that first fellow..... rather sci-fi ! (Kind of an uh-holy cross between a centipede and a crab...)

Do you know their names (gen. / species.... rathe than Bob and ack... that is... :)

djh

[Edited on 5-1-2006 by djh]

Diver - 5-1-2006 at 08:07 AM

Both are starfish.

First is a Spiny Brittle Star - Ophiocoma Erinaceus

Second is a small Sun Star - Pycnopodia Helianthoides

Tomas Tierra - 5-1-2006 at 08:34 AM

both can be very destructive to undrsea environments

Don Alley - 5-1-2006 at 08:36 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by djh
Are those a type of starfish?

I'm a "bugs rights" kind of guy... (to a degree... I do catch and release spiders...).

But.... that first fellow..... rather sci-fi ! (Kind of an uh-holy cross between a centipede and a crab...)

Do you know their names (gen. / species.... rathe than Bob and ack... that is... :)

djh
[Edited on 5-1-2006 by djh]


You catch and release spiders? Cool. There's been some discussion at my place, about whether my catch and release habits should extend to the c-ckroaches.

Names: Many years ago I was much more serious about collecting these kinds of creatures and identifying them, heck, 10 or 11 years ols with a copy of Animals Without Backbones and Between Pacific Tides. Now, for me just Brittle Star and Sun Star are enough. Diver probably has it right. Look for the brittle stars under rocks; unlike most starfish they move quickly.

A few years ago, at the tidepool exhibit at an aquarium, a docent is asked by an older gentleman why they now call starfish "sea stars." "Because," she replied to the mostly grade school audience, "Sea stars are not really a fish." So I responded, "But, they're not really stars, either."

Docents hate me.:biggrin:

Diver - 5-1-2006 at 08:46 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by Tomas Tierra
both can be very destructive to undrsea environments


Es[ecially the Sun Stars; they can grow to over 2' across and are eating machines !
Lot's of these in Baja - we also see them in the northwest in our crab traps.

Don Alley - 5-1-2006 at 09:03 AM

A couple more:

Another brittle star species:



And a rather plain sea cucumber:

Don Alley - 5-1-2006 at 09:12 AM

Sea Urchins



There are tons of sea urchins around here. I wonder if there have always been so many, and if there is a connection between them and complaints of less "sargasso" seaweed for the dorado season.

This, like most species are "tame" and can be handled, but you don't want to step on some species. There is a very common variety of sea urchin on the beach at low tide at Playa Salanita (by the Loreto Airport) that has long, brittle sharp spines that should not be handled bare handed. I'll pick up almost anything...once!

There is also a small creature, I believe a marine worm, that I found uder rocks at Isla Coronado that filled my hand with tiny, glass-like slivers. I won't pick up another one of those.

Marinero - 5-1-2006 at 10:19 AM

I have handled stuff in Pacific Coast and Sea of Cortez since I was a kid, usually with ok results. However, the first time I went to Hawaii with my kids, I dove down and picked up a sea urchin to show them. Bad Idea!
They call them "Vanas", and each spine has a barbed stinger in it that delivers a pretty uncomfortable jolt. Oh, it also "tattoos" the area deep purple for a few days! The standard jellyfish, bee sting type of stuff made it feel okay after awhile.

Now, I don't pick up anything I haven't handled before or seen someone else handle.