Blue Heron Bridge Trolls III

[Scuba_Jenny]

Nice shot of the black seahorse. I was there on Thursday. By the time I saw the seahorse it had enough of flashes and photographers. Turned its back on me numerous times. I think I got one half way decent shot before I gave up and let it have some peace. Course there were two other photogs nearby that continued the onslaught.

 

[scubadada]

@Jaan and @Pipehorse

A few seconds later and it was almost gone...

 

[PBcatfish]

Flameback Box Crab

I've accidentally caught those, when trapping stone crabs. I've seen them in the area for several years, but I hadn't seen them at the bridge before.

 

[Scuba_Jenny]

There's a few varieties up at the bridge.

 

[PBcatfish]

There's a few varieties up at the bridge.

I plan to be up there first thing tomorrow morning. I'll take a look.

 

[Pipehorse]

I've accidentally caught those, when trapping stone crabs. I've seen them in the area for several years, but I hadn't seen them at the bridge before.

Despite their robust claws I think they are a favorite meal item for octopus because I often find just parts of them instead of the whole animal.

 

[PBcatfish]

Despite their robust claws I think they are a favorite meal item for octopus because I often find just parts of them instead of the whole animal.

That's interesting because I've also found octopus in my crab traps, usually towards the end of the season.

While the overall size of their claws is rather large, the business part of the claws is actually rather dainty. The pincer areas have sharp points & sharp ridges on them, but they aren't all that powerful. It's kind of like a big arm with a little hand. It's a strange little critter.

The ones I've caught nearby had markings that were more flame like & less round. I'm curious if the box crab may have closely related subspecies, of which the flamed is one & perhaps other markings may define a close cousin?

 

[PBcatfish]

I wondered if perhaps I was hallucinating at the bridge this morning. I wondered if maybe I had gotten a bad tank of air or if someone had slipped me something funny. But my camera saw it too. Can anyone make an identification?

 

[Jcp2]

Well, it’s definitely not Mermaid Jules. She is the pink mermaid.

 

[PBcatfish]

She came & went pretty quickly