Moon Jelly (Aurelia spp.)
Phylum: Cnidaria
Size: Up to 15 inches
Range: Coast of California, and in the waters off the East Coast, Europe, Japan and the Gulf of Mexico
Diet: Small plankton
Notes: Just like the adult phase of the moon jelly, the larvae have special nematocysts to capture prey and also to protect themselves from predators.
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Brown Sea Hare (Aplysia californica)
Phylum: Mollusca
Size: Up to 40cm
Range: Point Conception to Baja California
Diet: Brown, green, and red algae
Notes: Sea Hares have a short life span of one year. These 'sea slugs' are hermaphrodites possessing both male and female reproductive organs, though they are unable to self-fertilize. They lay several million eggs resembling angel hair pasta. |
Spanish Shawl Nudibranch (Flabellina iodinea)
Phylum: Mollusca
Size: Up to 7cm
Range: British Columbia to Baja California
Diet: Feeds Exclusively on the hydroid (Eudendrium ramosum)
Notes: The fringe-like appendages on their back are gills which extract oxygen from the seawater. These nudibranchs are hermaphrodites. |
California Spiny Lobster (Panulirus interruptus)
Phylum: Arthropoda
Size: Approximately 3 feet in length.
Range: Monterey Bay, California to Baja California
Diet: Clams, urchins, snails, and small fish
Notes: California spiny lobsters are a vital part of the California coast habitat because they keep the purple and red sea urchin population under control. |
Spiny Brittle Star (Ophiothrix spiculata)
Phylum: Echinodermata
Size: Center disc to 1.8cm, arms 5-8 times the size of the disc
Range: British Columbia to Southern California
Diet: Detritus
Notes: The brittle star can regenerate new arms when severed. The Spiny Brittle Star requires an oxygen-rich environment, so it is used as an "indicator species" - if the population of stars drops, it is a sign that their habitat is polluted and unhealthy.
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Giant Kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera)
Phylum: Phaeophyta
Size: Up to 100 feet
Range: Santa Cruz to Turtle Bay, Mexico and along the temperate coasts of South America and New Zealand
Notes: Over the years, there has been an increasing ecosystem imbalance. The extirpation of the southern sea otter during the late 1800s and, more recently, heavy fishing of spiny lobster and sheephead - all major predators on sea urchins - has let the urchin populations blossom. With more sea urchins around, the kelp has not had the opportunity to grow. Other causes for the decline of kelp include wastewater discharge and erosion from hillside development that puts enough dirt into the oceans to bury the substrate - and tiny new kelp plants. |
California Green Moray Eel (Gymnothorax mordax)
Phylum: Chordata
Size: Up to 60 inches
Range: Point Conception to Baja California
Diet: Crustaceans, octopuses, and small fishes
Notes: Found common among rocks; lives in crevices or holes, usually with only head protruding. Often seen with the commensal red rock shrimp (Lystmata californica). Feeds mostly at night. |
Purple Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus)
Phylum: Echinodermata
Size: Up to 8cm
Range: Vancouver Island to Baja California
Notes: The hard body of an urchin is called a 'test'. An urchin's mouth consists of 5 bony plates that form a beak called the 'Aristotle's Lantern'. |
Horn Shark (Heterodontus fransisci)
Phylum: Chordata
Size: Up to 120cm
Range: Central California to Sea of Cortez
Diet: Urchins, worms, bony fishes and small crustaceans
Notes: Lays a distinctive auger-shaped egg case which hatches in 7 to 9 months.
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Two-Spot Octopus (Octopus bimaculoides)
Phylum: Mollusca
Size: Up to 3 feet
Range: Central California to Northern Baja Ca.
Diet: Snails, clams, and small fishes
Notes: The two large blue spots just below the eyes give this octopus its name. |
