Category Archives: Invertebrate

Glebocarcinus oregonensis: Pygmy Rock Crab–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Glebocarcinus  oregonensis Pygmy rock crab-photo by Ryan Murphy

 

Empty giant acorn shells are often the home for this small crab at Race Rocks. It was formerly called Cancer oregonensis

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Subphylum: Crustacea
Class: Malacostraca
Order: Decapoda
Infraorder: Brachyura
Family: Cancridae
Genus: Glebocarcinus
Species: G. oregonensis
Other Members of the Phylum Arthropoda at Race Rocks.

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.  G. Fletcher

 

Pagurus beringanus: Bering hermit crab–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Pagurus beringanus, The Bering hermit crab. photo by Ryan Murphy, 2010

This is a tentative identification of Pagurus Beringanus – the Bering Hermit Crab is an animal that is found from the Bering Sea to Monterrey, California. They are also found at Race Rocks. Commonly found at depths from intertidal to 365 meters.

This Pagurus is identifiable by their pale grey-blue shells (carapaces) mottled with grey, red and yellow spots. Legs are also pale blue with red bands at the joints. Claws are reddish and densely covered with spines. Bering Hermit Crabs all have characteristic green, irridescent eyes
Habitat – rocky, intertidal areas with cold water.
Behavior – Adults are inactive during the day. Starting late afternoon and carrying on through the night they become active and feed. This is because the retinal pigments in the eyes with position of the day and the night, only in response to the ambient light in the water.
Bering Hermit Crabs are scavengers, which makes the fact that they taste good puzzling. They eat dead plant materials and dead animal matter.
They themselves are prey to several types of fish, including pine perch, the California sheephead and the spotted kelpfish.
Females have been recorded with eggs mainly in April and May but some as early as February. During courtship, the male carries the female around for a day or more, knocking their shells together. The actual mating lasts less than a second, and both animals come almost completely out of their shells to perform the act.
References:
Intertidal Invertebrates of California. Morris, Abbot, Haderlie, 1980
Pacific Coast Crabs. Gregory C Jensen, 1995
Between Pacific Tides. Ricketts, Calvin, Hedgpeth, 1997

Classification:
Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Crustacea
Order: Decapoda
Superfamily: Paguridea
Family: Paguridea
Genus: Pagurus
Species: beringanus
Common Name: Bering Hermit Crab

Other Members of the Phylum Arthropoda at Race Rocks.

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.
Carmen Braden (PC yr 29) 2002

 

Solaster endeca: Northern Sun star

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One of the frames from the video on predation on the Psolus chitinoides

 

Predation of a Psolus chitinoides by a sea star is examined and discussed by Laura and Nadege. The stomach of the sea star surrounds the sea cucumber and the soft neck and mouth of Psolus is well inside the cavity of the sea

We see these occasionally at Race Rocks in the subtidal areas.Their favorite prey are various species of sea cucumber. Their puffy arms distinguish them from other orange stars. They can grow to 40 cm. across.

 

Reference: Lamb and Hanby, Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest.

Other Members of the Phylum Arthropoda at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

G.Fletcher

 

Flabellina trilineata The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Subclass: Opisthobranchia
Order Nudibranchia
Family Polyceratidae
Genus Flabellina
Species trilineata
Common Name: Nudibranch

Other molluscs at Race Rocks

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

Ryan Murphy

Melibe leonina: Hooded nudibranch–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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melibe3This is a hooded nudibranch (Melibe leonina)… a predatory sea slug that ‘swims’ more often than it crawls. The front end (on the right) has rounded sensory organs called rhinophores that look a bit like elephant ears. In the other picture you can see the head has a big mouth and that can expand to capture all sorts of little critters. The branching structures are ramifications of the digestive system (hepatic diverticula).

melibe1

Melibe leonina photo by Ryan Murphy

 

View  other underwater images at Ryan’s Flickr site.

melibe2

Melibe leonina photo by Ryan Murphy

Domain : Eukarya
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Subclass: Opisthobranchia
Order: Nudibranchia
Superfamily: Tritoniodea
Family: Tethydidae
Genus: Melibe
Species: leonina Gould, 1852
Common Name: Hooded Nudibranch

Other molluscs at Race Rocks

taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams. Ryan Murphy

Phidippus borealis: Red-backed Jumping spider–The race Rocks Taxonomy

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Phidippus borealis at Race Rocks, March 11, 2010.
This is our first photo of this spider , taken by Ryan Murphy

“The spider I noticed from about 20m away!  It’s about 2.5 cm (1 inch) long and the bright orange pattern with white spots was really shocking.  It’s made a funnel web in the rocks near the house, a really interesting structure of woven grass.” RM

 

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Arthropoda
Class Arachnida
Order Araneae
Sub-order Araneomorphae
Family Salticidae
Subfamily Dendryphantinae
Genus Phidippus
Species borealis
Common Name: Red-backed Jumping spide

Other Members of the Phylum Arthropoda at Race Rocks 
taxonomyiconReturn to the Race Rocks Taxonomy
and Image File
pearsonlogo2_f2The Race Rocks taxonomy is a collaborative venture originally started with the Biology and Environmental Systems students of Lester Pearson College UWC. It now also has contributions added by Faculty, Staff, Volunteers and Observers on the remote control webcams.

Ryan Murphy(PC)

Tochuina tetraquetra: orange-peel nudibranch–The Race Rocks taxonomy

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Tochuina tetraquetra orange-peel nudibranch. Photo by Erik Schauff

Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Subclass Opisthobranchia
Order Nudibranchia
Suborder Dendronotacea
Family Tritoniidae
Genus Tochhuina
Species tetraquetra
Common name Orange-peel nudibranch
This file is provided as part of a collaborative effort by the students, faculty, volunteers and staff of Lester B. Pearson College– Oct 2010 , by Erik Schauff

Tritonia festiva: (diamond back nudibranch)

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Tritonia festiva Diamondback nudibranch photo by Erik Schauff

At Race Rocks, this nudibranch probably feed on the soft coral ( Gersemia sp.)

Return to the Race Rocks Taxonomy Index and gallery

This file is provided as part of a collaborative effort by the students, faculty, volunteers and staff of Lester B. Pearson College– Oct 2010 , by Erik Schauff

Purple Sea Stars – Rare occurence at Race Rocks

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I found another black oystercatcher nest down in front of the Winch House, so moved camera 3 over to it. (Update note on July 17–2 young were observed near the nest). In the morning I went out on the intertidal for the minus tide. Excellent long exposure of the surge channel and the cave on the South west side. Also got onto Anita”s intertidal island down from the helipad on the west islet which becomes a penninsula at low tide.

gfseastar

Purple stars which oddly enough are very rare at Race Rocks

I was looking for the large (45 cm diameter Purple star. Which I saw there two years ago, and at that time I thought he was the only one on the island. This time I found another smaller one– 30 cm diameter in a similar protected channel only 2 metres from the other one. Since these sea stars inhabit the lower intertidal zone, they cannot withstand the heavy wave action that occurs in that area without these deep channels which are protected by a rise on the seaward side to the west. As far as I know these are the only two purple stars occurring at Race Rocks. They are very common however in other sheltered inland coastlines in BC and are frequently the first sea star that visitors to BC shores notice. I also made note of a large number of very colourful brooding anemone exposed on the same protected mussel-covered wall on that island. There was an unusual abundance of blue ones which I remember to be rather rare when seen by diving in that area previously . One gull nest close to the science centre has chicks hatching.’, ‘Garry’, ’09:59:49

Limited Habitat of Purple star at Low tide

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gfandstarWest Coast Wildlife Adventures approached to view the elephant seal also within 10 meters of the seal. I advised him he was too close since slash was there basking in the water. He had moved in to get a close look from a few metres. Images were placed on ecotourism page on web.
I found another black oystercatcher nest down in front of the Winch House, so moved camera3 over to it. (Update note on July 17–2 young were observed near the nest). In the morning I went out on the intertidal for the minus tide. Excellent long exposure of the surge channel and the cave on the South west side. Also got onto Anita’s intertidal island down from the helipad. I was looking for the large ( 45 cm diameter Purple star. Which I saw there two years ago, and at that time I thought he was the only one on the island. This time I found another smaller one– 30 cm diameter in a similar protected channel only 2 metres from the other one. Since these sea stars inhabit the lower intertidal zone, they cannot withstand the heavy wave action that occurs in that area without these deep channels which are protected by a rise on the seaward side to the west. As far as I know these are the only two purple stars occurring at Race Rocks. They are very common however in other sheltered inland coastlines in BC and are frequently the first sea star that visitors to BC shores notice. I also made note of a large number of very colourful brooding anemone exposed on the same protected mussel-covered wall on that island. There was an unusual abundance of blue ones which I remember to be rather rare when seen by diving in that area previously . One gull nest close to the science centre has chicks hatching.