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Tag Archives: sea shells
More Lord Howe Island shells
Continuing from my previous post … There’s a cone, yellow and black when alive but white and black when dead and washed up – the Hebrew cone (Conus ebraeus). It chases down, kills and eats marine worms …
Posted in The sea, Travels
Tagged Lord Howe Island, molluscs, rock platforms, sea shells
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Shells in Lord Howe Island rock pools
Lord Howe has many marine species similar to those in other parts of the Pacific – the eggs and larvae get washed along in currents from other places, and survive to adulthood if they don’t get eaten or if they … Continue reading
High noon, low tide at the rock pools
Around spring equinox, the low tides are lower than usual. The sand deposited by winter storms is starting to be washed off the rocks, and there is now lots of life in the Flat Rock rock pools, although surprisingly few … Continue reading
Posted in The sea
Tagged brittle stars, fire worms, Flat Rock, hydroids, nudibranchs, rock platforms, rock pools, sea shells, shark eggs
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A sauntering sea hare and a tiny nudibranch
Yesterday I saw this very charming sea hare, Dolabrifera brazieri, moseying across a shallow pond and grazing on algae, again at Flat Rock, near Ballina, northern New South Wales. It’s about 9 cm when stretched out. Sea hares are molluscs … Continue reading
Posted in The sea
Tagged Flat Rock, nudibranchs, pleurobranchs, rock platforms, sea shells
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Final gloomy day creatures
Continuing from the previous two posts … Carnivorous shells abound, but some herbivores are big and tough enough to survive – for instance, turbans. The turban below (left, Turbo militaris) is about the same size as its nemesis (right, Australian … Continue reading
More gloomy day creatures
Continuing from the previous post … It must have been a hermit crabs’ convention, as there were dozens and dozens. Perhaps they were there en masse to trade shells (they swap into larger shells as they grow) or mate, or … Continue reading
Alive, alive-o!
It’s great to see a sea shell (mollusc), but even better to see the animal that made it, intact and getting on with its life. ‘Shell’ is a bit misleading, as many molluscs don’t have visible shells but are photogenic … Continue reading
A tasty feast – for a bird
Shorebirds like oystercatchers make meals of limpets and chitons that sit on rocks, clamped down to conserve their water when the tide is out, like the one below. How the heck a bird recognised the camouflaged chiton below flummoxes me. … Continue reading
More sea shells by the sea shore
Nerites Many algae- and lichen-eating snails hang about in rock pools but are found stranded when the tide goes out. They shut tight their operculums (‘doors’) to protect themselves from dessication and birds. They feed by scraping off algae and … Continue reading
Egg masses and rams’ horns
Woody Head, Flat Rock and just about any other sandy beach, especially if it has a rock platform, are places of treasure for the sharp-eyed. The more types of environment, the more you will see. And the more often you … Continue reading
