Black Cormorant

Krill Flow

Krill flows past a crevice, at San Miguel Island.

Anemone in Sand

Anemones living in sand must have a tough existence: they are well camoflaged, but morsels are scarce and immersion by an underwater dune is always a worry.

Eye of a Coonstripe Shrimp

Coonstripe shrimp are said to have compound eyes.  Does that mean lots of tiny lenses with independent sensing elements?  They seem expressive even so.  This individual was at Blue Caverns, Catalina Island.

Sheep Crab Erupts

A sheep crab erupts from its home in an eelgrass patch.

Sheep Crab in Eelgrass

A sheep crab sits in eelgrass. Although they look somewhat like robotic Mars rovers, sheep crabs don't have a lot of personality. My impression is that they tend to be sour.

Brown Gorgonian

Somehow the brown gorgonian is often overlooked, beside the Red and the California Golden Gorgonians. Perhaps it needs a change of name.

Octocoral

This clump of polyps, about 2 inches across, was attached to rock at Underwater Island, Anacapa. The eightfold arms identify the polyps as octocoral, apparently clavularrid.

Opalescent Nudibranch

Hermissenda nudibranch with cup coral.

Opalescent Nudibranch with Tunicates

Opalescent nudibranch with tiny tunicates, at Channels on the south side of Anacapa. The tunicates are about the size of the head of a pin. This is a small individual of this nudibranch species.

Small Giant Spined Star

Giants come in different sizes. This giant spined star is still an infant. Even the adult giant spined stars seems smaller than the sunflower stars, though; but maybe I've never seen a fully adult giant spined star.