Night Diving at Whytecliff - Creepy Things

[Roko]

We did our first (well, second) night dive since getting here at Whytecliff this past Saturday (first night dive since moving was at Caulfeild Cove, but started when it was still light out... Just ended when it was dark )

Anyways, We were curious about the weird things that appeared everywhere in the shallows when we were making our way back across the bay to shore to end the dive. You can see it fairly well at the end of this video.. I checked through some of my PNW marine life references, but couldn't identify it... Any ideas?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMI24tU2f5g

Not many other great pictures from that dive, since I was playing with my wide angle lens in conditions that didn't really warrant using it.. But I did get a cool photo of a spotted shrimp swimming through a thermocline (He jumped off the wall)

(Actually, the full size one is much cooler, you can see the water mixing in front of the shrimp)

 

[Sintax604]

That IS really frickin wierd/creepy... from the way it moves I'd guess it's some kind of squid... opalescent perhaps?

 

[Corona1986]

Wow cool it moves like a squid with its little fan fin things. I saw a post in Northwest Dive News from Andy Lamb and it says, " If you encounter an unkown creature or mystery email Andy Lamb at andylamb@telus.net and you send him that video he might be able to find out what that little red thing is.

 

[cooldives]

Very cool - and like Corona said, it would be very interesting to see what Andy says it was. Thanks for posting.

 

[sschlesi]

Ask Andy he is as good a reference as you will ever find.

I Looked through Andy's book Coastal Fishes of the PNW, the shape seems to best match the Gravel Diver, though the coloration is not a match, and the notes say "SCUBA divers never see the tiny inconspicuous graveldiver because it never emerges from its intertidal, under-gravel habitat."

Otherwise I'd guess some sort of Gunnel, but again the coloration doesn't match anything I've seen. I'm pretty sure it's a fish and not a squid, I'm guessing a juvenile of something which is why the coloration doesn't match the adult photos.

 

[Roko]

Here are some more pictures, not of the same one, and much closer to shore:

 

[sablefish]

from the fringy wavelike motion along the horizontal of the body, i'd guess that's a marine polychaete worm. They have a fringing set of upper and lower bristles that help it move through the water.

 

[DaleC]

Just some random thoughts:

I've seen many polychaete worms in my field but have never seen that type of swimming behavior. I always expect the unexpected though.

Roko, If you had said you were in tropical FW locale I would say the movement closely resembles that of a knifefish.

I then thought of SW species simular to that and came up with gunnels, wrymouths and/or pricklebacks.

Though the book says "rarely seen by divers" for the graveldigger it could be refering to daytime sightings and may not make note of nocturnal or occasional spawning activity.

It could also be a juvenile or larval stage specimen, many of which bear little resemblance to the adult form.

I have no answers. My money currently is on a juvenile gunnel or prickleback. Thanks for the mystery.

 

[MarkH]

I agree with the worm theory. I've seen them swimming like that using the rows of "hairs" running down each side of their bodies. I've never seen one with that elongated head though.

 

[Roko]

Weird. I am expecting some type of worm too, in fact that was the first part of Marine life of the PNW I looked at.

I was also expecting these to be a common thing at Whytecliff at night in the shallows that everyone would recognize, considering how many there were (at least half a dozen that I saw)..