Incredible marine life hides, just a stones throw from the Hidden Hut at Porthcurnick!

Fantastic day for a survey - this is the reef we explored for our shoresearch survey. Porthcurnick is on the Roseland near Porthscatho. This is the view from the Hidden Hut- a fantastic beach cafe with incredible food and what a view!

First time Shoresearcher Tallana had the find of the day! Here it is....

Asterina phylactica  (sounds a bit like battlestar galactica)- a very rare tiny cushion starfish - what a beauty!! This is a climate change indicator species that we may well start seeing more of in Cornwall it is about one centimeter across and is an adult! more info here

Tallanas young eyes helped her also spot this tiny and beautiful chiton on a small pebble

I found this tiny crab which I think is Pirimela denticulata judging by the shape of the carapace (shell)

Another personal favourite crab - the Hairy crab! dont grow very large - about (3cm max) but are pretty common on the south coast under boulders! 

I have never seen a baby spiny starfish ( Marthsterias glacias )as small as this one!! Great find by Tallana and her mum Anthea! it was about one centimetre!

In a mid shore pool that was full of Corallina algae we found this beautful cowrie, Trivia monacha, roaming about - note the soft mantle wraps around its pale shell making it look dark in colour when roaming about underwater. 

We were really excited to see this - it is hard to believe that this isn't a different species but apparently its a juvenile cowrie- about the same size with a very thin and delicate shell with a clear spire on the end and a very open aperture compared with that of an adult cowrie.

Rob found a beauty Cornish suckerfish Lepadogaster lepadogaster

While we are on fish.. check out this beautiful juvenile dragonet - only about one inch in length! swimming in a shallow pool!

SPOT THE STALKED JELLYFISH - many of the pools were full of wireweed - a non native species that has been around for many years now- we increasingly notice that native species are living in it such as stalked jellyfish. 

 here is a larger pair of  beautiful and under recorded stalked jellyfish Haliclystus octoradiatus which were found living in the wire weed  approx 12mm tall.

here are some Obelia hydroids living in the wire weed

Algolaphenia hydroid in rainbow wrack which was home to a huge diversity of species!

We found an amazing pool with a host of small Montagu's blennies - some of which were really dark in colour - presumably a natural colour morph. here is a silhouette of one showing its beautiful tentacle crest which is diagnostic of this species.

Lots of  harpoon weed on this site - note the harpoons!

It was a great training day - really nice to see some new volunteers, Pat Farrell, Anthea and Tallana, Simon the work experience guy and Miranda Moore and her dad! Plus old hands, Sarah Stevens, Sue Scott and local seaweed enthusiast Christine Townsend.

We finished off with a lovely piece of cake and a cup of tea at the Hidden Hut - thanks to Simon and Jemma for making us so welcome! 

Next date for Shoresearch volunteer training is 16th August at the amazing Trevone... but between then and now there are lots of rockpool rambles you can take part in to practice your skills see the events listing in a previous post!

Cheers 

Matt

Stars of the shore

Star Ascidians - Botryllus shlosseri 

These amazing creatures are relatively common on Cornish shores but they come in an incredible variety of beautiful colours and forms. Close up photography on our shoresearch surveys this September and over the years have produced some incredible images of these beautiful communal animals whose colours rival any tropical corals.

Gold arrows - found at Hannafore Looe Sept 2014 - Photo Matt Slater

Golden Star ascidian found growing on the stipe of a bushy Cystoceira seaweed, Prisk Cove, Helford September 2014 - photo by Matt Slater

Purple and white -  Marazion night rockpooling 2014 - Photo by Matt Slater

Yellow Star ascidians found at Poleath 2012 Shoresearch - Photo Matt Slater

Sometimes star ascidians carpet overhangs and continue to grow - in this slow motion dripping effect! Photographed at Polzeath during September Shoresearch 2014- Photo Matt Slater

 Star ascidians are colonial sea squirts that live by filtering sea water and removing plankton
Unlike most sea squirts which are solitary creatures star ascidians grow in large colonies in which many individuals (zooids) are joined together in a soft rubbery layer (test) attached rock or seaweed. Look closely at the colony and you will see that 3 - 12 individual squirts are arranged in a circle. Sea squirts are a sack like creature with an inhalent opening through which they draw plankton rich water and an exhalent opening through which filtered water and faeces pass. In the case of a star ascidian each squirt has its own inhalent opening but all of its neighbors share the same communal exhalent opening. Taking communal living to an extreme!

Star ascidian growing on seaweed Hannafore Lagoon 2013 september Shoresearch - Photo Matt Slater

Star ascidians are rubbery and beautiful but they do have their predators! Cowries feed on them by squirting digestive juices into them and then sucking out the juice! Look for cowries in the same habitat as star ascidians - over hanging rocks and boulders on the extreme low shore (only exposed on a spring tide!)

Cowrie, Trivia Monacha, photographed on the shore at Battery Rocks Penzance by Matt Slater

Battery Rocks ROCKS

We had a great turnout of volunteers for the Shoresearch survey today at Battery Rocks right next to the jubilee pool, Penzance. My good friend Rory Goodall of www.elementaltours.co.uk was leading a fox club rockpooling event and myself and the Shoresearch volunteer team came along to conduct a survey of this important site! We were not disappointed! It is a fantastic shore!  We were met by David Fenwick of www.aphotomarine.com who showed us no end of fascinating tiny creatures we wouldn't have found otherwise! I definitely need a set of reading glasses! It was great to meet Liam from Falmouth aquarium and his girlfriends dad and brother who relentlessly discovered interesting things.
Prize for find of the day was definitely the candy striped flatworm and the beautiful Risso's crab found by Rob wells who had travelled all the way from Mevagissey to be at the survey (Margaret and Tim came even further, travelling all the way from Fowey!)

I'm looking forward to heading to Mounts bay again soon - next survey / public event is at Long Rock on the 12th July!

In this gully there is a multitude of seaweed species

Cowrie grazing in a lowershore overhang

Thanks to David Fenwick for helping us find this bizzare tiny isopod Campecopea hirsuta that lives inside empty barnacles on the upper shore at this site. this one was about 3mm. You are looking at its abdomen and the spine that is sticking up is part of pereon segment 6 of its back.

Montagues blenny portrait! Ruben found 10 of these in one pool.

Rissos crab Xantho pilipes found by Rob Wells

Hairy legs are the key identification feature but they are also far more colourful than Montagu's crabs.

David found this piece of rock covered in sponge and barnacles Acaster spongites within Dysidia fragilis sponge.

I found  this just sitting on a muddy ledge inside a small cave out of the water - a topknot - a type of flatfish.

Rob Wells found this beautiful large (one inch) candystripe flatworm.

Gastroclonium ovatum - Red grape weed 

Shoresearch Hannafore point Looe 22nd September 2013