plant/animal reference) to get a bigger pictureLook at this | Harrington Lagoon team photo 2009 | Checking it out |
Moonsnail | Bristle cone worm | Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis |
The tide rolled back to -3.5 feet on May 27th giving Donna Keeler’s Harrington Lagoon team a terrific opportunity to examine their beach. Dick Dent uncovered two big
moonsnails and the team encountered numerous moonsnail egg collars that lay along the low tide line. One of the moonsnails clutched a drilled and empty littleneck clamshell in its massive foot, apparently the remnants of its lunch. Wendy Moon spotted a green sea urchin and the team found more than a dozen barnacle eating nudibranchs. Pete Berg found a large "naked" hairy hermit crab revealing the soft coiled abdomen that is usually tucked up into protective snail shell attire. There were also quite a number of ice cream cone worms (Pectinaria). In addition, the team dug up bristle comb worms which Whidbey monitors have found only on this beach. Bristle comb worms belong to the polychaete family Flabelligeridae.