plant/animal reference) to get a bigger pictureNorthern horsemussel | California mussel | Red sea cucumber |
Sabellid tubeworm tubes |
Maxwelton Tidepool team photo 2010 | Bivalve dig | Maxwelton team profiling |
Team captain Tillie Scruton assembled a team of six to look at the Maxwelton Tidepools on May 16th . Whoever Tillie put in charge of weather did a great job as it was a beautiful day. This beach has a short stretch of cobble followed by a substrate composed mostly of sand along the profile line. A massive erratic is set in the sand about 200 feet from the start point and it is loaded with life. This year its inhabitants included red sea cucumbers (Cucumaria mineata), sabellid tubeworms, and surprisingly, northern horsemussels (Modiolus modiolus), a species rarely encountered on Whidbey Island. Another unusual find on the big rock was that of a large California mussel. Several kelp crabs (Pugettia productus) had taken refuge along the base of the erratic and it also served as an attachment point for a dozen strands of bull kelp.