Specimen of 'lightning seaweed' on the rocky shores at low tide. Unknown location, South Africa (2021). Plants dark brown to yellowish-brown, with tough rather than rubbery texture, comprising a prominent, woody, conical holdfast bearing one or more main axes that, in turn, bear primary lateral branches with distichous, alternating arrangement of leaves - rarely, second… Continue reading Lightning seaweed (Oerstedtia scalaris)
Tag: rock pool
Violet zoanthid (Zoanthus sansibaricus)
Open violet zoanthid polyps covering the bottom of a rock pool. Port St Johns, Wild Coast, Eastern Cape (2021). Polyps tall, with a height of 2-3 times the width, and connected by a thin coenenchyme. Like all Zoanthus species, the polyp column is smooth, never embedded with sand. Column usually violet to grey, with an… Continue reading Violet zoanthid (Zoanthus sansibaricus)
Chili pepper sponge (Tedania anhelans)
Probable specimen of chili pepper sponge on the side of a rock pool, surrounded by a mat of Spirobranchus kraussii. Port St Johns, Wild Coast, Eastern Cape (2021) - iNaturalist Reddish-brown, also reported as orange-green or blueish. Massive sponge with conical oscular elevations, and thinner blind-ending fistules and projections. Surface smooth, consistency soft, compressible and… Continue reading Chili pepper sponge (Tedania anhelans)
Common octopus (Octopus vulgaris)
Common octopus hiding in a rock pool. Unknown location on the South African coastline (2021). All Octopus species have eight arms, each with two rows of suckers, and lack an external shell. The species are distinguished by the tip of the male's right third arm (the hectocotylus arm), which is suckerless and transmits sperm to… Continue reading Common octopus (Octopus vulgaris)
Yellow-banded hermit crab (Clibanarius virescens)
Specimen of yellow-banded hermit crab peaking out of a scaly dogwhelk (Nucella squamosa) shell and trying to flip himself. Port Alfred, Eastern Cape (2024). Body olive-green. Nippers about equal in size, spotted with yellow. Fingers yellow with black tips. Walking legs banded with yellow. Between 10 and 20 mm. Abundant hermit crab in mid-to-high shore… Continue reading Yellow-banded hermit crab (Clibanarius virescens)
Sand shrimp (Palaemon pacificus)
Sand shrimp caught in a rock pool. Port Alfred, Eastern Cape (2022). Transparent, with vertical bars across the body. Opaque when preserved. Front legs with slender nippers and yellow spots at the joints. Rostrum well developed, toothed and almost saw-like. Between 25 mm. Lives in intertidal pools and shallow areas with a sandy bottom. Scavenges… Continue reading Sand shrimp (Palaemon pacificus)
Blue-eyed hermit crab (Calcinus laevimanus)
Both hermit crabs live in the shells of Lunella coronata (formerly Turbo coronatus). Port St Johns, Wild Coast, Eastern Cape (2021) - iNaturalist Also called left-handed hermit crab. Nippers dark brown with white fingers, that of the left side greatly enlarged to block the shell opening when the crab withdraws. Eyes blue, eyestalks and first… Continue reading Blue-eyed hermit crab (Calcinus laevimanus)
Alikreukel (Turbo sarmaticus)
Large alikreukel covered in spiral fanworms (Spirorbis spp.) and pinkish barnacles. Old Woman's River, Eastern Cape (2021) - iNaturalist Also called the giant periwinkle, or the South African turban shell. Large and round, height less than width. About three rows of low nodules spiral around each whorl - though they may erode and disappear in… Continue reading Alikreukel (Turbo sarmaticus)
Colonial worm-shell (Dendropoma corallinaceum)
A colony of colonial worm-shell on a rock boulder. Jacobsbaai, Western Cape (2020) - iNaturalist A small gregarious species forming an intertwining mass of long, white, worm-like tubes, often sunken into encrusting coralline algae. Operculum present. About 10 mm long. A filter-feeder which spins a mucus net to trap floating particles. Two Oceans: A Guide… Continue reading Colonial worm-shell (Dendropoma corallinaceum)
Crowned turban shell (Lunella coronata)
Eroded crowned turban shell in a shallow rock pool. Port St Johns, Wild Coast, Eastern Cape (2021) - iNaturalist Distinguished by its operculum, which has a greenish tinge and is smooth or has only a faint granulation. Shell with strong, spirally-arranged nodules, the uppermost row on the body whorl being particularly well developed and forming… Continue reading Crowned turban shell (Lunella coronata)
F*CK FISH 