Dock critters

Went for a quick walk on the docks today, under a heavy, overcast sky. But there was no wind, and the water was still and clear. And there were anemones and sponges and red flowering worms ...

A small Giant plumose anemone, Metridium farcimen, about 6 inches tall.

This anemone was on the float under a dock office. Along the log base there's a profusion of seaweeds, sponges pink and yellow, red feather-duster worms, barnacles and mussels. I think I saw a crab leg, or at least something leggy.

Black pipe (plastic?) with tube worms, a small short plumose anemone (different species than the one above), barnacles, and a sea urchin (half hidden).

The plumose anemones, both Giant and Short, can be white, brown, or a red brick colour. The Giant may  grow up to 1 m. tall, in the right conditions. The Short will only reach about 4 inches. They're easily distinguished even when small, because the Giant has a deeply-lobed crown. The Short here is the same species as the one in my aquarium, which is brown.

Down at the very bottom, the starfish are feeding. These are leather stars, Dermasterias imbricata.

After the die-off of so many of our purple starfish, this area was almost abandoned. A few big sunstars wander about, I've been told, but I haven't seen any. It's good to see the leather stars moving in. I saw 4 from one float today.

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Fui al muelle a buscar criaturas marinas. El agua estaba clara y sin olas, y pude encontrar una variedad de anémonas, lombrices, y más.

La primera foto es una anémona "Plumero Gigante", que crecía en la base de una oficina en el muelle. A su lado, hay lombrices plumeros, con sus tentáculos color rojo, y varias esponjas, rosas y amarillas.

La segunda foto es un grupo de animales y hierba en la tubería bajo el muelle. Aquí hay otra anémona, pero de otra especie, mucho más pequeña. La Gigante tiene muchos lóbulos en la corona de tentáculos; la segunda (Plumero Corto) tiene una corona sencilla. Esta es de la misma especie de la que vive en mi acuario.

En el mero fondo, se ven las estrellas de mar. Estas son Estrellas de Cuero.