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| Holdfast of Giant Kelp (Macrocystis Pyrifera) |
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| Growth pattern of Giant Kelp (Macrocystis Pyrifera) |
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| Brooding Sea Anemone (Epiactis Prolifera) it's spitting something out |
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| California Sea Hare (Aplysia Californica) |
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| Striped Sea Hare (Navanax inermis) |
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| Sandcastle Worm? (phragmatopoma californica) |
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| Unidentified - egg sac? |
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| Peanut Worm? (Sipuncula) |
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| Eighteen Scaled Worm? (Halosydna brevisetosa) you can also see the 'foot' of the mussel sticking out |
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| Purple Star (Pisaster Ochraceus) |
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| Ghost Shrimp? |
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| Larval Octopus (look close you can see it's suckers) |
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| Purple Sea Star and Unidentified Brittle Star |
western spiny brittle star (ophiothrix spiculata) - September 5, 2013
"ophio" meaning snake or serpent, "thrix" meaning hair, and "spicula" meaning needle. These stars can be found entangled in the washed up holdfasts of the majestic Giant Kelp (macrocystis pyrifera). We have observed it "milk" a whitish substance once and this time one of the stars released an orange colored cloudy substance; eggs?
Here are its spines under the microscope... amazing.
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