Granulina margaritula the "Little Pearl" is a prosobranch gastropod belonging to the Marginellidae family that ranges from Southern Alaska to Panama. The bright colouration shown in this photo comes from the animal's "mantle" which is an extension of the "dorsal body". The epidermis of the mantle can secrete CaCO3 to create a shell. To see G. margaritula's shell and mantle: http://calphotos.berkeley.edu/cgi/img_query?enlarge=0000+0000+03...
A special thank you to Dr. Alan Kohn at University of Washinton for his help in identifying G. margaritula.
This is the first one photographed underwater at Race Rocks
In this left iimage is Flabellina verrucosa the "Three-lined" aeolid which is seasonally abundant from Baja to Alaska (Behrens, 1991). Aeolids are opisthobranch gastropods known as sea slugs because they have lost their shells. This photo shows the nudibranch's "oral tentacles" (bottom), ridged sensory antennae called "rhinophores", "cerata" which contain stolen stinging cells for defense, and a "propodial tentacle". This aeolid is common year-round at the Race Rocks Ecological Reserve where it is often observed feeding on hydroids such as Tubularia. To the left of it is thesmall Granulina m.
Macro images by Ryan Murphy
|
