Scaly Lithodid? And a mystery fish!

Fish & Invertebrate sightings and descriptions, hosted by resident NWDC ID expert Janna Nichols (nwscubamom).
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Penopolypants
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Scaly Lithodid? And a mystery fish!

Post by Penopolypants »

Both of these were found on the boundary line last night at cove 2.

I apologize for the quality, he was booking it and kicking up some dust. Is this a scaly lithodid? It was one cool looking crab!

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And who is this guy?

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Greg Jensen
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Post by Greg Jensen »

Yes, it's a Placetron. If this was by Alki then it's the furthest down into the Sound that I've heard of one.
The fish is a snake prickleback.
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Post by Penopolypants »

Thanks!
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Post by Cold_H2O »

He is one cool looking crab.
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Post by Sergeant Pepper »

For those of you who didn't dive at Cove 2 last night, you missed out. We saw one heck of a cast of characters.
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Post by Penopolypants »

Sergeant Pepper wrote:For those of you who didn't dive at Cove 2 last night, you missed out. We saw one heck of a cast of characters.
True, here's a partial list:

The scaly crab
snake prickleback
spiny red star
a teeny baby squid (about 1/2"? smaller?)
a black rock fish
diamondback nudis
a lemon peel nudi
several leopard nudis
two sailfin sculpins
assorted gunnels
a rat fish
several schools of perch and other fishies
a few tubesnouts
some cool anemones
a red irish lord
a seal that kept us company pretty much the whole dive

Of course, who knows what "cast of characters" we were swimming through after the storm. :vom:
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Post by Ken G »

Sounds like a fun dive to me
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Post by Fishstiq »

Sorry for hijacking the thread, but I could use a little help as well I.D.ing a critter and I didn't want to start a new thread... Pez spotted this little guy at the bottom of a small piling, about 25 fsw cove 2 on the boundary line. He (pez) didn't have his camera, and neither of us knew what it was, so I snapped a couple pics. Anyone?

<IMG SRC="http://usera.imagecave.com/Fishstiq/Div ... ain008.jpg">

<IMG SRC="http://usera.imagecave.com/Fishstiq/Div ... ain009.jpg">
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Post by Penopolypants »

Fishstiq wrote:Sorry for hijacking the thread, but I could use a little help as well I.D.ing a critter and I didn't want to start a new thread... Pez spotted this little guy at the bottom of a small piling, about 25 fsw cove 2 on the boundary line. He (pez) didn't have his camera, and neither of us knew what it was, so I snapped a couple pics. Anyone?

<IMG SRC="http://usera.imagecave.com/Fishstiq/Div ... ain008.jpg">

<IMG SRC="http://usera.imagecave.com/Fishstiq/Div ... ain009.jpg">

Ooh, neato! I think it's a northern clingfish.
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Post by WylerBear »

Definitely a Northern Clingfish! Great find. One has been spotted at Cove 2 a few times over the last several months but they are hard to find.
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Post by Fishstiq »

Northern clingfish? you guys are pulling my leg, right? No way did some supercool edjumacated marine biologist scientist type name something "clingfish..." ](*,)
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Post by Penopolypants »

Fishstiq wrote:Northern clingfish? you guys are pulling my leg, right? No way did some supercool edjumacated marine biologist scientist type name something "clingfish..." ](*,)
Oh, scientist can be silly, too. Here are some funny critters:


Ba Humbugi (endodontoid snail) from Mba island, Fiji.

Eubetia Bigaulae (tortricid moth, pronounced You betcha, by golly)

Pieza Kake, Pieza Pi, Pieza Rhea (mythicomyiid flies) Piece of Cake, Piece of Pie, Pizzaria

Strategus Longichomperus (Honduran scarab with elongated mandibles)

Foadia Pakaluk, (beetle) FOAD is an acronym for "F*** Off and Die."

There are also insects named for Gary Larson, Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Harrison Ford, Jerry Garcia, and Carmen Electra.

Oh, and a species of rabbit named after Hugh Hefner. Ahem. :supz:
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Post by Fishstiq »

I have seen the Estrophagus GaryLarsoni or whatever it's called. That's a funny one. Maybe one day there will be an Awesomus Fishstiquamus or something. That would rock!! :supz:
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Post by spatman »

let us not forget the Penopolypantsicus Ejumitaticus Nerdea.

Penopolypants wrote:
Oh, scientist can be silly, too. Here are some funny critters:


Ba Humbugi (endodontoid snail) from Mba island, Fiji.

Eubetia Bigaulae (tortricid moth, pronounced You betcha, by golly)

Pieza Kake, Pieza Pi, Pieza Rhea (mythicomyiid flies) Piece of Cake, Piece of Pie, Pizzaria

Strategus Longichomperus (Honduran scarab with elongated mandibles)

Foadia Pakaluk, (beetle) FOAD is an acronym for "F*** Off and Die."

There are also insects named for Gary Larson, Bill Gates, Paul Allen, Harrison Ford, Jerry Garcia, and Carmen Electra.

Oh, and a species of rabbit named after Hugh Hefner. Ahem. :supz:
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Post by Penopolypants »

spatman wrote:let us not forget the Penopolypantsicus Ejumitaticus Nerdea.

:laughing3: :laughing3: :laughing3:

Thanks, that's 20 different kinds of frickin' awesome!!
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Post by Grateful Diver »

Actually, northern clingfish are fairly common in Cove 2 right now ... this seems to be the time of year you can find 'em. They tend to hang out under pilings and other structures.

That's a nice picture ... they don't usually hang out in the open like that, and tend to not let photographers get too close ...

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Post by Chevayea »

We've seen clingfish recently in Cove 1 near the abondoned pipeline. My buddy took this one.
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Post by Chevayea »

Oh, looking through my site i found another one that we saw near the grain terminal in Seattle. That's a fun dive site if you ever get the chance. I've only ever seen one at a time and i don't know anything about their behaviors. Does anyone else?
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Post by Greg Jensen »

They are very interesting fish- very common under rocks at low tide, so lots of them are shallower than where divers are usually looking. As juveniles they feed on things like small crustaceans, but as they mature they develop specialized, wedgelike teeth that they use to pop off and eat limpets. These are swallowed whole, and as limpet shells stack together nicely, they pile up in the GI tract until they are finally pooped out. As you can imagine, passing a stack of limpet shells is probably a bit hard on the rear end, so they coat the whole mess with a very thick layer of mucus.
They're great aquarium fish. The first one I had used to come zipping up the tank side and stick on the glass completely out of the water to grab food from my fingers.
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Post by John Rawlings »

Greg Jensen wrote:As juveniles they feed on things like small crustaceans, but as they mature they develop specialized, wedgelike teeth that they use to pop off and eat limpets. These are swallowed whole, and as limpet shells stack together nicely, they pile up in the GI tract until they are finally pooped out. As you can imagine, passing a stack of limpet shells is probably a bit hard on the rear end, so they coat the whole mess with a very thick layer of mucus.
Now THAT is something that I didn't know! I would imagine that passing a stack of limpits would be a bit...ahem..."troublesome"! If I ever see something like that on the bottom at least I'll know what it is!

Thanks, Greg! Please keep tid-bits like this coming! There's a BUNCH of us "critter-folk" here that are fascinated by such things.

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Post by Tom Nic »

John Rawlings wrote:
Greg Jensen wrote:As juveniles they feed on things like small crustaceans, but as they mature they develop specialized, wedgelike teeth that they use to pop off and eat limpets. These are swallowed whole, and as limpet shells stack together nicely, they pile up in the GI tract until they are finally pooped out. As you can imagine, passing a stack of limpet shells is probably a bit hard on the rear end, so they coat the whole mess with a very thick layer of mucus.
Thanks, Greg! Please keep tid-bits like this coming! There's a BUNCH of us "critter-folk" here that are fascinated by such things.

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Post by Penopolypants »

Greg Jensen wrote:These are swallowed whole, and as limpet shells stack together nicely, they pile up in the GI tract until they are finally pooped out. As you can imagine, passing a stack of limpet shells is probably a bit hard on the rear end, so they coat the whole mess with a very thick layer of mucus.
So this is the fish equivalent of a high fiber diet? :laughing3:

I love facts like these. May I present this to my useless facts group?
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Post by Chevayea »

Thanks Greg. That's enough info to make me sound smart next time i come across one \:D/
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