BajaNomad

Baja creature identification please

wilderone - 3-7-2012 at 08:17 AM

Can anyone identify this wildlife? So delightful to see Baja creatures in the wild.

These two marine specimens are in a tidepool a bit NW of Bahia Asuncion





Found this snake napping at my campsite near Punta Baja when I returned from a hike:

Russ - 3-7-2012 at 08:21 AM

gopher snake

mcfez - 3-7-2012 at 10:21 AM

Orange Gumdrop Sea Slug(?)

very interesting looking star fish!

Gopher snake I would say too...we have these guys here at the farm

marv sherrill - 3-8-2012 at 05:32 PM

Apricot sea slug - they are usually found under rocks as an inert looking orange hershey kiss shaped blob, and then "become" a beautiful nudibranch - they secrete sulfuric acid, and will quicly kill all other organisms if placed in a confined area - like a bucket. Very cool creatures.

adventureheart - 3-9-2012 at 12:56 PM

The sea star is a species of crown of thorn stars. they're very damaging to coral, but cone shells eat them in turn. They're an environmental nightmare in the south pacific islands right now, but around here their populations seem to be pretty balanced.

BajaBlanca - 3-9-2012 at 02:27 PM

that is a beautiful snake.

mcfez - 3-9-2012 at 05:35 PM

Do you know their origin?
Quote:
Originally posted by adventureheart
The sea star is a species of crown of thorn stars. they're very damaging to coral, but cone shells eat them in turn. They're an environmental nightmare in the south pacific islands right now, but around here their populations seem to be pretty balanced.