Critter ID Help Please!

[Coll]

Oh wise and experienced divers, lend me your taxonomy! I have two critters I can't put names to. Both are from dives in Monterey, CA and both were found somewhere around 30 ft or so. One is obviously a nudibranch, it was floating in the water column and I finally managed to let it land on my glove and you can see how tiny it is, about the size of a stitch on my glove. Is it a juvenile hermissenda crassicornis? Any thoughts? The other one, forgive the picture, seemed to be a clam sticking out from a rock, the picture was taken face on. Thanks as always for the help!

 

[Larry C]

I think your nudie is Cuthona Lagunae, Laguna Beach Aeolid. Behrens & Hermosillo page 127, #296. Max size is 14mm, a little over half an inch. Nice find.

 

[LIVES4SHARKS]

What beautiful pics of the macro world! Thanks for sharing!

Carolyn:sharks:

 

[Coll]

Thanks for the comments guys and gal! Larry, I think you nailed it on the Cuthona Lagunae, also, my Eastern Pacific Nudibranchs purchase should be in the mail to me soon! Any thoughts on the clam? Carolyn, thanks for the support! As a very new underwater photographer (5 photography dives under my belt) I need all the help I can get!

 

[sylpha]

i could be totally wrong here, them being several thousand miles away, but it might give you a pointer.

i can't see the shell properly from your photo (lovely view though it is), see if you can find photos of Crasscstrea angulata (a form of oyster) or Spondylus gaederopus (a form of scallop)

 

[Hetland]

Wow. While I agree that your clam photo is not technically perfect, it is however quite stunning. Truly you found a sunken treasure. Thank you for sharing it with us, and please post more photos as you can.

 

[maged_mmh]

is there a crab arm holding the shell on 2 O'clock direction?

 

[Coll]

Hey guys, thanks for the compliments, I'm so hooked on underwater photography, I appreciate the feedback. Sylpha, I think you might have nailed it with the Spondylus gaederopus. I figured it was a long shot since I never got a picture of the shell but I think you got it! Thank you! I don't think it is a crab claw in the picture but you never know, it could be a sneaky kelp crab. That's one of the funnest things about photography isn't it? Seeing the details that are in the pictures sometimes that you miss in the shot cause you're so focused on the subject!

 

[sylpha]

Glad to help.

it looks to me that the 'crab' is a piece of brown algae with a bryozoa covering it. i could be wrong, it's a totally different ocean to the one i'm used to.