Sunday, August 1, 2010

Barking Crab Observations

This is what I found today the Barking Crab:

  1. Green in color, about ½ a centimeter in size, and it was attached to a brown leafy plant. When I poked it, multiple legs were exposed. To me, it resembled a shrimp at that moment.

    My picture didn't come out that great, so thank goodness I drew a picture. Sorry, not a great artist…..


     

    Pic:


    A bristle worm, class polychaeta. Peterson Field Guide, pg. 190


     

  2. Clear with hints of tan and brown, about 1.5 inches in length, and the top half makes fast paced movements mimicking dancing. To me it can extend to its full length and then fold into half of its size.

    Pic:


    Skeleton Shrimp, class Amphipod. Compared to a miniature praying mantis and can be very fragile. Peterson Field Guide, pg. 229

  3. Clear and round. When poked with a sharp object, squirted liquid. When we removed the outer layer, or shell, we saw brown, yellow and white worm like particles inside. Seemed to be related to the jellyfish.


     

    Pic:


    Sea Squirt/Sea Grape, Molgula and Bostrichobranchus species. Peterson Field Guide, pg. 272


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

4. Ted found and gave us a super tiny fish, about 2 inches….Thanks Ted!! It was green and yellow in color with a silver shimmer. A few minutes out of the water, the fish began to change color. It had lost its shimmery glow and the fins turned red.


 

Pic and Drawing:



Baby Herring


 

Plants discovered today:


 

Dark Brown/Black plant also found in the tidal zone on the tidal wall at Long Wharf. Believe it is also a seaweed species:

Could be Black Whip Weed, Chordaria flagelliformis, because it is mostly found in lower intertidal zones in fairly exposed places. Peterson Field Guide, pg. 30


 

Brown plant found at the Barking Crab. Believe it is, once again, a seaweed species:

It resembled a leaf of lettuce. It matches the sea lettuce listed in the Peterson Field Guide under the Green Seaweeds category, but my subject was brown. No mention that that sea lettuce can be found in different colors.


 

No comments: