Category Archives: Species

Scorpaenichthyes marmoratus: Cabezon–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Scorpaenichthyes marmoratus

cabezonCabezon are normally benthic or bottom-dwellers, living among rocks and seaweeds in tide pools. Sometimes they live just below the water’s surface among the marine plants. Their coloration allows them to remain well camouflaged. Their habitat is most likely rocky, sandy and muddy bottoms, living in areas with a depth range of 0 to 200 meters. Moreover, young cabezon feed on small crustaceans like amphipods, shrimp, and crabs. The adults feed on crustaceans, marine worms and mollusks, including clams and abalone. They can swallow a whole abalone and later regurgitate the indigestible shell; therefore, their tropic level is that of a secondary carnivore. In addition, the limiting factors that will affect the development and growth of this population in a certain habitat will be the presence of enough light, temperature and the availability of food and living space.

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Sub-phylum Vertebrata
Class Actinopterygii
Order Scorpaeniformes
Family Cottidae
Genus Scorpaenichthyes
Species marmoratus
Common Name: Cabezon, Scorpion Fish

The cabezon ( literally big head in Spanish ) is a benthic fish that lives among the kelp holdfasts and rocky areas, usually very close to the bottom. It is often so confident of its camouflage that it will not move when approached by divers. Note the multi colored eye. These fish will lunge at almost anything that moves on the bottom. Dissections of their stomachs reveal amphipods and small crabs, pieces of kelp (and even rocks they have grabbed when foraging for other invertebrates.)

Their maximum length and weight are 99.0 centimeters and 14.0 Kilograms respectively. This organism can be seen in the Eastern Pacific, which covers the areas from Southeastern Alaska to Punta Abrejos, in Central Baja California, Mexico. Race Rocks is located in the centre of this range. In this map we can see the range of this fish.

mapReference The National Biological Information Infrastructure (NBII) BioBot
http://www.elasmodiver.com/BCMarinelife/BCML%20Chordata.htm

 

https://www.racerocks.ca/category/species/class-actinopterygii/
Other Members of the Class Actinopterygii 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.

 

October,2009 : Original text by Diomedes Saldana Greco

Larus glaucescens: Glaucous-winged gull– The Race Rocks taxonomy

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gullfeedLarus glaucescens is omnivorous, feeding on carrion, fish, invertebrates, seaweed and food stolen from other birds. One of the main sources of food for Glaucous-winged gull are the softer bodied invertebrates exposed during the low tide time at Race Rocks. It is also typical of their behavior to take their hard shelled food, such as clams, or gastropods and drop them onto rocks to break them open for eating.

This species is the only species of gull that nests on Great Race Rock. From June to September, there could be over 150 nests on the island. The adults also overwinter at Race Rocks, but occasionally disappear from the islands for a few weeks. They start their complicated behaviours aimed at establishing territories and bonding with mates as early as February or March. Their eggs are laid in June and hatching takes place in early July. In the 2002 season, 100 birds fledged successfully, after several years of failed nesting, probably due to fish shortages in the surrounding waters.

In September, the clean looking feathers of the neck and head take on a mottled gray appearance as they undergo an annual moult.


The following pictures were taken by Ecoguardian Christine Ouradou in July of 2016 and appear in logs from that time.

gulljuvenIn this picture by Evan Ferrari , the young juveniles, capable of flight, still hang around for a daily feeding from their parent

Domain: Eukarya
Kingdom :Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum :Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family :Laridae
Genus: Larus
Species :glaucescens
Common Name:  Glaucous-Winged Gull

The Glaucous winged Gull,
In June of 2000, David Mesiha and Satoshi Kimura (PC yr 25) made videos of different aspects of gull behavior while staying on the island. Thus started the archiving of videos for racerocks.com

June 1-16 : Aggression between males is frequent. This takes the form of plucking grass in a standoff and in beak pulling. In this way territories are defined as the nests are being built.

May 1: Breeding in the colony has started and will continue throughout May and June.

This video was taken in early July, 2001, from the north window of the Marine Science centre at Race Rocks. It shows the second day in the life of a sea gull chick. The parents feed the chick a small fish, probably herring or needlefish.
In June, 2016,  Lester Pearson College set up a live camera to follow the development of one of the Glaucous-winged Gull nests with eggs in the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve . Also the camera had infrared night vision.

All entries on this website tagged with Glaucous-winged gull

Other Members of the Class Aves 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.

Original text by Juan Pablo Hoffmaister, PC student Dec. 2001

Ocinebrina lurida : Lurid rock snail–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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snailcol2-1

Ocinebrina lurida : Lurid rock snail. The orange snail on the left is probably Ocenebrina. The others are various litorine snails.

Physical description:
Small,size to 1 1/2 ” (38 mm) solid shell with up to 6 whorls; fine close spiral treads crossing 6-10 axial ribs; Oval aperture with 6-7 teeth or more within outer lip height. Shell height most commonly is up to 40 mm, however usually less, with six to ten large low axial ridges crossed by prominent spiral ridges. Colors range from white, pale yellowish, dark brown, or red. It has a canal well developed, and its aperture is oval.
Classification
Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Sub class Prosobranchia
Order Neogastropoda
Family Muricidae
Genus Ocinebrina
Species lurida
Common Name: lurid rock snail

Global Distribution

Ranges from Sitka (Alaska) to Punta Santo Tomas
(Baja California). 57° N- 32° N, in the Pacific Ocean.

Habitat
Low intertidal zones, visible amongst the fucus and other algae at low tide.It is common on and under rocks and in crevices, commonly, clinging to rocks.

Feeding
The lurid rock snail is the natural predator of the giant chiton, Cryptochiton stelleris . It has been observed feeding on gumboot chitons, where it uses its radula to cut through the dark outer layers on the dorsal surface of the chiton’s girdle in order to eat the yellow tissue beneath. They feed on a number of prey items, ranging from bivalves to other gastropods
Reproduction
They have separate sexes. Fertilization of the egg occurs in seawater. Eggs cases are attached to water.

Interesting facts
It may be confused with Amphissa, because its shell shows a similar mixture of fine spiral lines and axial ribs. It’s less slender than Amphissa,  its canal is better developed, and its aperture is not at all the shape being oval rather than nearly elliptical. The yellow-brown or orange-brown coloration, and the fact that the axial ribs cross the body whorl, enable one to distinguish it from a small specimen of searlesia. Often confused with larger rock snail, Ocinebrina sclera,

References

http://members.shaw.ca/bcshells/bcframe.html

http://people.www.edu/staff/cowlda/KeyToSpecies/Mollusca/Gastropoda/Prosobranchi/
Order_Neogastropoda/Suborder_Rachiglossa/Family_Muricidae/Ocenebra_lurida.html

Peterson Field Guides Pacific Coast Shells Percy A. Morris Houghton Mifflin Company Boston 2nd edition 1980 Canada

Shells & Shellfish of the Pacific Northwest Rick M. Harbo Harbour Publishing 1997
Other Members of the Phylum Mollusca 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.

 

Family Myctophidae: Lantern Fish–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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lanternfish

Lanternfish Photo by Anne Stewart

Anne found this specimen washed up in the intertidal In April, 2016.

Its not surprizing that we don’t have a name for it as can be noted in this quote from the website ” Sea and Sky presents The Sea”,

“There are over two hundred different species of lanternfishes in the deep sea. In fact, they are thought to be some the most common deep ocean creatures. Sampling by deep sea trawling indicates that lanternfish make up as much as 65% of the deep sea biomass. They are among the most most widely distributed and diverse of all vertebrate species and it is believed that they play an important role as prey for larger organisms.”

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Superclass*: Osteichthyes
Class: Actinopterygii
Subclasses: Neopterygii
Order: Myctophiformes
Family: Myctophidae (T. N. Gill, 1893)
Genus: ?
Species: ?

Other Members of the Class Actinopterygii 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.

Anne Stewart, Ecoguardian, April 2016

 

Nucella lamellosa: Frilled Dogwinkle–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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We have somehow missed getting a photo of this Dogwinkle.. stay tuned!

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Mollusca
Class Gastropoda
Order Neogastropoda
Family Thaididae

Genus Nucella
Species lamellosa (Gmelin,1791)
Common Name: Frilled Dogwinkle

Other Members of the Phylum Mollusca at Race Rocks.

Return 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.

 

Cystodytes lobatus: Lobed compoud tunicate

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Cystodytes lobatus photo by G.Fletcher.. 1980

Domain Eukarya
Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
subphylum Urochordata,
Class Ascidiacea

Order Enterogona
Family Polycitoridae
Genus Cystodytes (Ritter 1900)
Species lobatus
Common Name: Lobed compound tunicate

 

Other Members of the Subphylum Urochordata 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.

 Garry Fletcher

Rissa tridactyla: Black legged kittiwake

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PB-Black-legged -Kittiwake2

Black-legged -Kittiwake, Rissa tridactyla In the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve


We received an e-mail today from Pam Birley of Leicester England with the photos of this Kittiwake she had taken using the remote controlled camera 5. This is a new photo record for Race Rocks Ecological Reserve.
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Laridae
Genus: Rissa (Stephens, 1826)
Species: tridactyla
Rissa tridactyla
Other Members of the Class Aves 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.

 

Limosa fedoa : Marbled godwit–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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donandnina-marbledgodwit

Marbled godwit  Limosa fedoa : photo by Ecoguardians Don and Nina, November 9 2015

This is the first record for the marbled godwit at Race Rocks. Don and Nina recorded it in their log today. Compare it with the whimbrels which we see almost every year in migration seasons


At least one Godwit stayed around for some time. Here are Jasper’s pictures from the log of December 15, 2015:

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Charadriiformes
Family: Scolopacidae
Genus: Limosa
Species: L. fedoa
Binomial name
Limosa fedoa (Linnaeus, 1758)

for a good recording of their call go to: http://www.birdweb.org/birdweb/bird/marbled_godwit
Other Members of the Class Aves 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.
 Garry Fletcher 2015

 

 

Spinus tristis :American Goldfinch–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Ann Stewart, Race Rocks Ecoguardian, took these pictures of the American goldfinch ( Spinus tristis) in its winter plumage and posted them in her log of today’s date. This is the first record for this species on Race Rocks The brown nape and bright colours suggest that it is a male.  This is at the extreme northern range for these birds at this time of year. Race Rocks serves as a valuable stopover for the migration of many birds, so we assume it was on its way across the Strait of Juan de Fuca.

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Passeriformes
Family: Fringillidae
Genus: Spinus
Species: S. tristis

Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758)
Other Members of the Class Aves 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.

 

Balaenoptera acutorostrata: Minke Whale–The Race Rocks Taxonomy

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Minke whales are being seen more frequently in recent years off Race Rocks .  See the posts on Minke whales sighted from the Ecological Reserve.
(We are still waiting for a picture of whales in the Ecological Reserve.)

For reporting Minke whales, go to  the Northeast Pacific minke whale project.

The BC Cetacean Sightings Network has a good description and images:

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Subclass: Eutheria
Order: Cetacea
Suborder: Mysticeti
Family: Balaenopteridae
Genus: Balaenoptera
Species: B. acutorostrata

 

Other Members of the Class Mammalia 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.