The Chestnut cowries, Neobernaya spadicea at Golf Ball Reef are still engaging in extracurricular activities under every rock and inside every abandoned shell. Until Merry found a few mating pairs last week, I had never seen a Chestnut cowrie penis. Not that I was looking for one, but when you see it, it's pretty obvious. The females are depositing eggs under rocks, so the pair work quickly.
Other snails, including Kellet's Whelk are in reproduction mode as well. Yellow, white, and orange eggs dot the reef. Flittering around the low rockpile are juvenile rockfish. A few barracuda raced past us but weren't fast enough to escape the flock of sea birds at the surface. There was a mini feeding frenzy happening all around us as we geared up.
I only found a single Navanax inermis but there were Navanax eggs everywhere as well. Spring is in the water. The red tide of last month has dissipated, leaving decent visibility for the locals to get back to their munching and mating.
Other snails, including Kellet's Whelk are in reproduction mode as well. Yellow, white, and orange eggs dot the reef. Flittering around the low rockpile are juvenile rockfish. A few barracuda raced past us but weren't fast enough to escape the flock of sea birds at the surface. There was a mini feeding frenzy happening all around us as we geared up.
I only found a single Navanax inermis but there were Navanax eggs everywhere as well. Spring is in the water. The red tide of last month has dissipated, leaving decent visibility for the locals to get back to their munching and mating.
