This weekend I spent some delightful time poking around in tide pools at Point Holmes near Comox, BC. With the fantastic weather of the last couple of days and the low afternoon tides it is an excellent time to be exploring the sea shore. Point Holmes is always productive since it is a mix of sand and cobblestone with a few big boulders thrown in to make things interesting.
I made my way out onto a large cobblestone bar following the dropping tide. After discovering a small cast of Red Rock Crabs I ventured out toward the far edge of water. One of the rules of beach exploration is to move slowly. Walking carefully lessens your impact and you’re more likely to see some of the small things that are often missed. Here’s just a few of the things that I saw on the beach this weekend:
Purple Encrusting Sponge
This Purple Encrusting Sponge (Haliclona sp.) is fairly easy to identify due to its distinctive colour and prominent oscula (excurrent pores). The sponge is soft and velvety to the touch. Note the other organisms on this rock – what appear to be some bryozoans (the mesh like pattern) and some small snails.
Dogwelk Eggs
I knew that these were eggs but was unsure of what type of snail laid them until I found more of them and a rout of Wrinkled Dogwelks (Nucella lamellosa) at the base of a very large boulder in the middle of the cobblestone beach. The egg masses are commonly called sea oats because of their distinctive appearance.
Pink-tipped Anemone
There were a few anemones that seemed to be doing well in the little pools of water. Below is the Pink-tipped Anemone (Anthopleura elegantissima).
Intertidal explorers should add Andy Lamb’s excellent book Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds and Selected Fishes
to their reading list – its really helpful when trying to identify the intertidal creatures of the Pacific Northwest.
I found a piece of sponge like that a year ago. I wasn’t sure if it was sponge, though; I’d never seen it before, and I hadn’t bought the encyclopedia yet. The colour and texture matched your photo exactly, so this is helpful.
Another beautiful post. unfortunately we do not have tides like yours in Turkey. Besides we do not know Turkish names or even latin names of most marine species. There are very few guidebooks 🙁
Marine wildlife rocks :))
Thanks Burcu – have you thought about maybe a Greek guide? I found one on Amazon here: The Greek Seashore and there might be some similarity along the coastline.
Thanks Susannah! I really like Andy Lamb’s book Marine Life of the Pacific Northwest: A Photographic Encyclopedia of Invertebrates, Seaweeds and Selected Fishes for figuring out marine life. Definitely not a guide for the field but as a home reference it’s excellent. I also found some good stuff on the web as well at http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidweb/animals/Haliclonasp..htm Note that I didn’t attempt to identify it to species!
These images of the sea life are wonderful. I must visit the coast of BC one day.