Any marine biologists handy? Question for you...

[ScubaSarus]

Is that your 254th video documentary Dr Bill ? Im impressed with that videography but the clear vis makes a difference as compared to our NE Diving that can be special within its self. Those were not the one posted at Diver's cove but Ide love to see them.

Thanks for sharing those.

 

[RIOceanographer]

Those were not the one posted at Diver's cove but Ide love to see them.

Chris,
I saw that flyer too. The grad student who is looking for those jellyfish also posted a flyer at Giant Stride in Warwick in case anyone in the RI corner of the universe wants to look at it. The critter she is looking for is a kind of siphonophore (the species name slipped my mind for the moment) not a salp.

Also, just FYI, not that you can tell from my pictures but the salps we get here don't look too much like the ones in Dr. Bill's photos.

Here is a better image of our local variety of salp, Thalia democratica, that I found on the net. The picture is fairly close to actual size unless you happen to be looking at it on an iPhone or something.

 

[ScubaSarus]

Would love to discover one of those critters. Thanks for the clarification Chris.

 

[SadiesMom]

LOL - head for Fort Weatherill, go into Sandy Bottom Cove, put your hand in the water and lift it out again and your chances are pretty good of discovering about 65 billion of them.... (assuming they're still there since last weekend...).

(Seriously - they were in a layer about 6-8" thick covering at least 30-50 feet from the beach outward into the cove.. - didn't get past 'em 'til we got well past the rocks onto the wall....

 

[RIOceanographer]

I just did Beavertail Parking Lot 2 tonight after work to see if I could get a lobster or two for dinner. I've got a license but have not actually caught a single lobster all summer, mostly because I'm not usually diving for lobsters.... I generally prefer just exploring.

I didn't see any tropicals or salps at that site. There were however lots and lots of large scup, a bunch of black sea bass and one tomcod.

My lobster quest didn't seem to be going well, but no problem, it was just an excuse to go for a dive... not that I really need excuses to dive. I found one keeper but it was so close to the edge of the gauge I decided not to mess with it and let it go. 1:05 into the dive still nothing, I was making my way to the exit point and then... bam.... a keeper.... and then two minutes later another! Nothing like the last minute!

The bummer was that of the non-keepers I saw a lot of the larger ones had pretty serious cases of shell disease.

 

[oceancat]

Hi. we saw salps around this time last year (haven't seen them this year) at old garden beach too in Rockport. Another interesting sighting I have had on my last 2 night dives (OGB and Folly-this week and last) are small fish (probably 3" long, 2" wide at the pectoral fins) that look like flying gunards! Any thought on what those are? I have a really bad picture I will try to post!

 

[oceancat]

Hi. we saw salps around this time last year (haven't seen them this year) at old garden beach too in Rockport. Another interesting sighting I have had on my last 2 night dives (OGB and Folly-this week and last) are small fish (probably 3" long, 2" wide at the pectoral fins) that look like flying gunards! Any thought on what those are? I have a really bad picture I will try to post!

 

[SadiesMom]

Ka-ching - Just checked Humann's Reef Fish (pg 364) and it looks like you saw a flying gurnard! I'd actually thought they were just tropical, but they say they can range as far north as Mass. Hmm! They're part of the same family as searobins. Cool!