MARINE LIFE
of Western North America
of the Pacific Ocean
& Gulf of California
(other than Whales & Dolphins)
including inshore & offshore waters
of coastal Alaska, Washington State,
California, & Sonora, Mexico
A list compiled by Armas Hill
With those seen during FONT tours
& pelagic trips
with an (*)
Photo at upper
right: a SEA FAN on the coral PORITES CALIFORNICA,
in the Gulf of California, also known as the Sea of Cortez,
in Sonora, Mexico
Links:
A
Listing of scheduled Focus On Nature Tours
Upcoming
Focus On Nature Tours in North America
FONT
Past Tour Highlights
Links, in the following list, to:
Sea
Turtles
Fish Corals
& Jellyfish Mollusks (Shells)
Squids & Octopods
Arthropods: Crustaceans
Echinoderms
Codes:
All of the following
either along the coast or offshore.
AK
in
Alaska
BC in Baja California, Mexico
CA
in California
SN
in Sonora, Mexico (the Gulf of
California, or Sea of Cortez)
WA
in Washington State
(p): seen pelagically
Species with a
"pr"
occur in the area of Point Reyes,
California.
(ASC:xx) refers to plate number of photo in the "National
Audubon Society Field Guide to Seashore
Creatures"
MARINE, or SEA, TURTLES
(Reptiles)
- Leatherback (Sea) Turtle (ph) (*)
______ CA
Dermochelys coriacea
The Leatherback Sea Turtle is the world's largest turtle. It can weigh half a
ton. A deep
diver, it can go to a depth of about 5,000 feet.
Leatherback Sea Turtles, of the now-rare Pacific population,
have been seen (adult females & hatchlings) during FONT Tours in Costa
Rica in December/January at one of their night-time nesting sites, at a
beach in the region of that country known as Guanacaste.
FISH
Click the above link to
a list of marine fish of western North America: 458 species
INVERTEBRATES
including those of the OPEN OCEAN:
CNIDARIANS
(including corals & jellyfish)
STONY CORALS (Class Scleractinia)
- Orange Cup Coral ______ (ASC:176.177)
Balanophyllia elegans
Balanophyllia elegans is the only stony coral that
occurs between the high and low tide lines on the Pacific Coast.
Orange Cup Coral
JELLYFISH (Class Scyphozoa)
- Eared Stalked Jellyfish ______
Haliclystus auricula
- Purple-banded Jellyfish ______
Pelagica colorata
The Purple-banded Jellyfish is highly toxic. Even so, it is eaten
by the Ocean Sunfish and the Blue Rockfish.
- Lined Sea Nettle ______
Chrysaora melanaster
- Lion's Mane (ph) ______ (ASC:511)
Cyanea sapillata
The Lion's Mane is the largest jellyfish in the world. Specimens
up to 8 feet wide have been found.
Cyanea sapillata is highly toxic.
Contact with the tentacles produces sever burning and blistering. Prolonged
exposure may cause stomach cramps and breathing difficulties.
In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's story, "The Adventure of the Lion's
Mane", Sherlock Holmes solves a homicide caused by contact between the
victim and this medusa in a tidepool.
Above & below: the Lion's Mane Jellyfish
- Moon Jelly (ph) (*) ______
(ASC:502)
Aurelia aurita
Moon Jellyfish
Above on a beach, below in the water
MOLLUSKS (SHELLS)
SEASHELLS are made by MOLLUSKS.
MOLLUSKS are invertebrate animals that produce shells of one or two pieces
that wholly or partially enclose a soft body.
SHELLS are the skeletons of MOLLUSKS. Like the internal skeleton
(endoskeleton) of a mammal, the external skeleton (exoskeleton) of mollusks
function both for protection and as a place for muscle attachment.
A SHELL found on a beach is the skeletal remnant of a dead MOLLUSK.
MOLLUSKS are either snail-like animals with one shell (UNIVALVES, or
GASTROPODS), or clam-like animals with two shells (BIVALVES). The two
shells of a BIVALVE are held tightly together when the animal is alive.
A third group of MOLLUSKS are the CEPHALOPODS, including SQUIDS and
OCTOPUSES. These animals lack external shells, having instead internal or
rudimentary shells.
Shells collected along the shoreline of the Gulf of
California
during the FONT Tour in Sonora, Mexico in August 2010
GASTROPODS (Class Gastropoda): snail-like mollusks with a one-part
shell
- Red Abalone ______ CA
pr (ASC:392,393)
Haliotis rufescens
- Japanese Abalone
______
Haliotis kamtschatkana
- Black Abalone ______ CA
pr
Haliotis cracherodii
- Rough Keyhole Limpet ______ CA
pr (ASC:391)
Diodora aspera
- Volcano Limpet
______ CA pr (ASC:382)
Fissurella volcano
- Giant Keyhole
Limpet ______ (ASC:388)
Megathura crenulata
- Seaweed Limpet
______ CA pr
(ASC:389)
Notoacmaea incessa
- Plate Limpet
______ CA pr (ASC:385,386)
Notoacmaea scutum
- Ribbed Limpet
______
Collisella digitalis
- Shield Limpet
______ (ASC:387)
Collisella pelta
- Rough Limpet
_____
Collisella scabra
- Owl Limpet ______ CA
pr (ASC:390)
Lottia gigantea
- Purple-ringed Top Snail ______
(ASC:457)
Calliostoma annulatum
- Channeled Top
Snail ______
Calliostoma canaliculatum
- Blue Top Snail
______
Calliostoma ligatum
- Red Top Snail
______ CA pr
(ASC:459)
Astraea gibberosa (formerly A. inaequalis)
