alex_bairstow's Favorites

Detailed info: http://life-on-earth.ru/sokhranenie-bioraznoobraziya/amudarinskie-lopatonosy-kyzylkum

Juweniles of various ages of Вig broadnose form of Pseudoscaphirhynchus kaufmanni caught in Aprile 2005 as bycatch in the middle stream of Amu Darya River flowing between Kyzylkum and Karakum Deserts (Kyzylravat, Uzbekistan).

Sea Pig collected on the Northeast Pacific Deep-Sea Diversity Expedition in June 2022. Look below for a link to the collection video, and check out the expedition website at https://www.oceannetworks.ca/expeditions/northeast-pacific-deep-sea-diversity-expedition/

An extremely tall sea pen, reaching over 2.5 m in height. Believed to be the tallest sea pen in the world. Lives on thick mud substrates where its fleshy peduncle, imbedded in the mud, holds it upright. Generally found at depths below 25 m. The close-up image, taken in September 2010, shows the eggs inside the polyps.

Now this was a bit of a surprise.
Swam out when I lifted a rock. It then tucked into a space nearby. Very weird things. Habitat shot last. That's the spot he was in before I flipped the rock.

~4cm long
Lower intertidal.

Many babies schooling around presumed parent in shaded, shallow (1/2 to 1 ft deep) backwater swamp. Based on a quick dot-count, I estimate that there were as many as 2000-3000 baby bowfins in the school.

ID with help from Milton Love and Jack Engle at University of California, Santa Barbara. Overall length about 3cm. Very shy. 5-6 individuals observed in crevices at around 50-60’ depth in the dive park at Catalina Island. Possibly a range extension for this species. This was the only image I was able to capture that was worthwhile.

Pink/purple guts when gravid, size and locality are distinctive of A. labiata. A. aurita is in the North Sea, and A. sp1 is found in harbors. A. labiata is the most common moon jelly on open coast California.

Found in a swarm of brown sea nettles Chrysaora fuscescens at the Monterey breakwater.

Sacoglossan Sea Slug. Maximum length 6 mm. Rhinophores cylindrical, enrolled,
black with posterior white stripes from base to half-way up,
leaving apices completely black. Oral tentacles
completely black; foot corners yellow. Head black with two
yellow-orange patches, eyespots at base of yellow-orange
patches. Lateral yellow-orange line on head connects
yellow-orange eye patches to dorsum. Body elongate,
with numerous cylindrical cerata covering most of the
dorsum. Proximal half of cerata yellow-orange, distal half
black. Foot yellow-orange ventrally from head to tail.
Posterior end of foot is pointed, black dorsally.
Radula of a 4 mm long specimen from Catalina Island,
California (CPIC 01962) composed of 7 teeth in ascending
row, 12 teeth in descending row, and 2–4 teeth in ascus. Leading tooth smooth, lacking denticles, with a cylindrical,
short, slightly curved, pointed cusp. Base of teeth
short, triangular, slightly concave ventrally.

Caught via otter trawling w/ Marine Science Institute. Caught juvenile Bat Rays in high densities (28 individuals in one net) including this one.

Eyes not shown, but iris' are red making for a true albino.