Did a pretty cool dive at Alki a few days ago and I found a few interesting critters. Two of em I need some ID help. The third, I just wanna brag. lol.
First isn't the shrimp, it's what's inside the shrimp. I found two of these guys right next to each other and the one not in the photo didn't have anything like this in its belly. Is it a parasite of some sort?
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h65/c ... G_0364.jpg
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h65/c ... G_0362.jpg
Second is one that I'm pretty sure several people have put up, but I've never actually seen the conclusive ID. So Leslie's probably gonna have an easy time, lol. This guy was amazing. He was all curled up on the bottom, but I would estimate he was at the very least a foot long, if not more. And that's just what we can see.
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h65/c ... G_0354.jpg
And here is the bragging. I found our first ever DECORATED WARBONNET!!! :norris:
http://i61.photobucket.com/albums/h65/c ... decora.jpg
Few critters from Alki
Re: Few critters from Alki
Easy on genus anyway - Phyllodoce in the family Phyllodocidae. Someday I'll get a specimen & figure out the species name but until then....
Re: Few critters from Alki
Oh, that's a great worm, Chenari!
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Re: Few critters from Alki
It's a threespine shrimp, Heptacarpus tridens, with a bopyrid isopod (Hemiarthrus abdominalis) on its abdomen. These parasitic isopods live right in the spot where the shrimp would normally be carrying eggs and affected shrimp don't reproduce.
Re: Few critters from Alki
Nice shot of the warbonnet! I love those guys. However, I'm ready to put a parasite filter on my image viewing......ick. :looking: The worst part is ---I'm sure as my pix get better, I'll be treated to more of them (ugh)
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Re: Few critters from Alki
Hi Greg - Is H. abdomiinalis a specialist on tridens or does it parasitize other species as well?
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Re: Few critters from Alki
It's found on a lot of different hippolytids. There appears to be at least two species lumped under that name at present.
Re: Few critters from Alki
Hmm, that's not good. Is there any way to get rid of them? Or is this shrimp just out of the gene pool?Greg Jensen wrote:affected shrimp don't reproduce.
Dave
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- Greg Jensen
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Re: Few critters from Alki
I've removed them from shrimp in the lab, but for a shrimp in the field it's probably permanent birth control.
Now if something like that would just latch on to the neighbor's cats......
Now if something like that would just latch on to the neighbor's cats......