Close to home

[Merry]

We encountered consistently flat seas near Redondo when making our first dips of 2014. Vis at the Barge, Golf Ball Reef, and Honeymoon Cove ranged from 12 to 30 feet, depending on the day. Plenty of diverse photo subjects to choose from. Here's an assortment of animals that struck my fancy, organized from smallest to largest.

I assumed this was a speck of debris on the nickle-sized Acanthodoris lutea, but it's a munnid isopod.



Phil found another wonder on the barge, Dendronotis venustus, formerly D. frondosis



Megaloma worm



Serpulid worm



Decorative mantle of the apple seed snail (we've seen several this year), Erato vitellina



Felimare porterae



Cadlina limbaughorum







Felimida macfarlandi, formerly Chromodoris macfarlandi




Dendrodoris behrensi



Not a clue; I call it the Paul Bunyan worm.



So scarce are the gelatinous inverts this year! Nanomia bijuga



Kevin found one of my faves, Physophora hydrostatica.



Berthella californica, the usual size.



MEGA Berthella californica



This huge Triopha catalina was eating brittle stars.







Black sea hare, Aplysia vaccaria.











Large Mola mola at the barge.

 

[TSandM]

Wow -- what an incredible dive, and an amazing set of pictures. The worms are stunning, especially the Paul Bunyan worm, but as always, it's the jelly pictures that give me goosebumps. I'm so glad you guys post here . . .

 

[drbill]

You "guys" almost make me want to dive the mainland... almost! Great shots, Merry.

 

[FrankPro1]

Superb series Merry! You are getting some incredible detail on these tiny critters! Love the Triopha catalina eating brittle stars. Great action shot!