I posted a photo of a Spotted Pufferfish a while back (here). That one was brown. This one’s black, but both have similar white spots.
Spotted Pufferfish
Category Archives: Marine Invertebrates
Red Pencil Urchin
I saw this Red Pencil Urchin in the shallows of Kawaihae Harbor. In the gentle waves, it oscillated between mostly exposed and mostly covered.
The Numbers Game #26
The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 147. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
The Numbers Game #25
The idea of The Numbers Game is to enter a number into the search bar of your computer and then post a selection of the photos that turn up. This week’s number is 146. Captions are on the photos. You can see more responses here.
These photos, all with a 146 in their numeric identification, are from a snorkel in murky water in Kawaihae Harbor.
Long-spined Urchins
This pair of Long-spined Urchins was attached to the front of the concrete ramp, in Kawaihae harbor, that the military uses to bring vehicles and supplies ashore to Pōhakuloa Training Area.
Lurking
I took this photo of a head of Cauliflower Coral because I was happy about how healthy it looked. Then I saw that I was being watched. This Spotted Coral Blenny was wedged into the coral head, as they do, clearly waiting for me to move on.
Well, it is the last of the month, so time for me to move forward into June and for the blenny to go about his business.
Posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.
Moving forward sideways
I was walking the beach at Pelekane Bay one morning, when I realized there was a lot of movement on the sand. A bit of quiet observation revealed crabs everywhere. They skittered back and forth, but if I moved, they zipped back to the edge of their holes or disappeared into them.
I picked a spot where I could observe a good number of them and spent about 40 minutes there, kneeling in the sand, moving minimally, while the crabs went about their work. The ones in these photos are Pallid Ghost Crabs.
Posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.
Triton’s Trumpet
It’s been a long time since I saw a Triton’s Trumpet, so I was happy to spot this one soon after I got into the water recently. However, it didn’t look like it was in a good situation, shell down in the rocks and the opening exposed. I’m not one to interfere with nature too much so I took photos and carried on with my swim. When I returned, I looked for it again and found it right side up and all well.
Triton’s Trumpets are extremely large marine snails. Even when I first saw it, in its precarious position, there was probably no danger. Triton’s Trumpets have no predators in nature. The biggest threat to them is, of course, us humans, who covet them for their very attractive shells.
A downside of this is that these snails are one of the few things that eat Crown-of-Thorns Stars, which are significant destroyers of coral. So going out and buying one of these shells contributes in a direct way to the disappearance of coral reefs.
One thing I have yet to see, but would very much like to see, is a Triton’s Trumpet going after a Crown-of-Thorns Star. That’s because they’re considered to be very speedy snails. Even though a Crown-of-Thorns Star can detect the presence of a Triton’s Trumpet and get a head start, the snail can run it down, moving forward with considerable purpose!
Posted for Becky’s Squares: Move Forward, Reconstruct, Renew, and/or are Burgeoning. See more responses here.
Graham's Island 