okay so i think i know what this beasty is... but every time i type in the link to the site you can look at it on... it doesn't go through... so i'll just tell you and you can find a picture yourself:
I'm almost positive that its a California Sea Hare.
Nudibranchs are just a large group of animals made up of many different species, like "bivalve" or "chiton". what you found was indeed a nudibranch... but to narrow it down the specific organism itself was a california sea hare. and It matches the description: grows to about 1 foot, dark skinned, harmless, and fairly common
Shark --- No, I know about animal classification; I teach the stuff (sometimes), though I'm not a biologist. The first time I read about nudibranchs was in one of those little Abbot nature guide books when I was eleven or twelve (I've been a shell collector since I was a kid). I'm familiar with all major Mollusca taxa.
I do appreciate your footwork with respect to finding the species ('Aplysia californica').
The website Nudi Pixel is a great nudibranch resourse.
Well, hey! Thanks for the comment. If you live on the west coast of the U.S., you should be able to find an octopus of your own in a rocky tide pool somewhere.
Thank you for the comment. The octopus is very fascinating to watch. You can find octopuses in almost any rocky tide pool along the west coast of the U.S. I'm not sure about the east coast.
Hello. There may be octopuses on the East Coast. You have to find a rocky location. There aren't many in New Jersey, I know. I used to live on the East Coast and I'm familiar with Jersey beaches. Mostly they're sand beaches. Maybe up in Maine?
Hello. Thank you for adding to the discussion. I'm not really sure if octopus are found along the Maine coast or not. Maybe ask a fisherman or lobsterman if they've ever seen one? If you do, let me know what they say!
I have a book about octopus but the species distribution maps in it are rather poor.
You've never seen a single octopus in any west coast tidepool? Where do you live? Which stretch of coast do you frequent? I don't spend a lot of time at the beach myself. I go once every couple of months or so. I like visiting during a spring tide event best. I've been told by those who frequent the beach far more than me, that seeing an octopus is not all that rare in the rocky tide pools of the California coast. I was lucky to get this footage, imperfect though it is.
What aspect of marine life do you study? Wait: Let me guess: Carpet sharks! Am I right? Is a carpet shark the type you see in the sandy bottom close to the beach? Or is it a deep water specie?
I think tide pools are fascinating. Although I didn't capture any video of it, the last time I was at the beach where I shot this octopus video, I saw a few really large (~25-30 cm long) nudibranchs. They were a very dark, mottled brown color.
haha... nonono, carpet sharks are like a nick name for ferrets. I have two pet ferrets and i loooove them!!! The nudibranchs you saw sound awsome, were they some kind of spotted doris or did you mistake nudibranchs for gumboot chitons (giant pacific chitons)? what beaches are you tiding at... i'd like to know, they sound great.
The place I saw the nudibranchs is same as this video: Leo Carillo State Beach. They were definitely nudibranchs and not chitons. They had no shells whatsoever. I don't know what a spotted doris is, but I do know nudibranchs in general.
I work raising pacific fish fry and nymphs to maturity in a hatchery at an aquarium.
A spotted doris is a species of nudibranch, very common, and when you think of "sea slug" then that pretty much explains them, but i've never seen one bigger than my palm.
What you explained sounds A LOT like a giant pacific chiton.... the size the coloring.... and gumboots don't look like your everyday chiton.... they're different. Do you know what a gumboot is? have you ever seen one? look them both up.
It was definitely not a chiton. Chitons have 8 plated shells, right? This was more like a slug with a cephalus, antennae, and eyes. I've looked at what pics are available from Google for gumboot chiton. They don't look anything like the creature I saw in the tide pool back in May.
I once found an obscure website that included a description of the "largest nudibrach in the world." It was a specie found along the Calif coast, but I don't recall its name. I think that was the critter I saw.
yah they got 8 plates, but gumboots have a thin layer of skin that covers their plates. Anyways, your right, it wouldn't have antenae or eyes... so its no gumboot.
Looking through my files today I found some video of the big sea slug that I saw in the tide pool back in May. When I have time I will edit a video together and post this footage. In the video the creature appears to be grazing on some vegetation, and I captured it locomoting as well. I'll let you know when I post the video ... or if you subscribe you'll get a notice.
hmmm...very interesting creature...very slithery...never saw one on the beach here on the east coast...will look more closely at tide pools in future...you should have caught him and had him for dinner!
In Japan, they throw octopuses on the floor and occasionally hose them down. Guaranteed fresh. I think it's sad since they are extremely intelligent cephalopods.
I have a great older book about octpuses (octopi?) called 'Kingdom of the Octopus' by Frank W. Lane. In the book Lane writes that they can't survive in fresh water for very long. I'm guessing it's fresh water they use when they "hose them down" in Japan? From a culinary standpoint, that sounds about right. :) Lane also concurs with your assessment of octopus intelligence. Many experiments demonstarte it.
thats a rare treat this its delicious if u want the recipe by all means ask
ARIS3OLE 6 months ago
Theres no octopuses in Jersey :C
tsphilly98 7 months ago
@tsphilly98 "no octopuses in Jersey"
Do you mean NEW Jersey? If so, that's because New Jersey doesn't have a rocky coastline containing tide pools in which octopuses like to hang out.
Try the coast of Maine (very rocky). Or come out west. Octopuses like it out here.
bapyou 7 months ago
@bapyou I know, I plan to, it would just be cool if they DID hang out in Jersey... cool vid though :)
tsphilly98 7 months ago
lol i can just picture the octopus thinking "holy shit i gotta get outta here these creeps keep starring at me...."
MaxC17 2 years ago 2
You are probably right. Ha ha.
bapyou 2 years ago
okay so i think i know what this beasty is... but every time i type in the link to the site you can look at it on... it doesn't go through... so i'll just tell you and you can find a picture yourself:
I'm almost positive that its a California Sea Hare.
CarpetSharkFreak 2 years ago
Yeah ... You Tube doesn't allow URLs to be pasted into a comment. You can send the web address in a PM, however.
Is a sea hare a type of nudibranch? Or have I misidentified it as such? Do you know the binomial?
bapyou 2 years ago
Nudibranchs are just a large group of animals made up of many different species, like "bivalve" or "chiton". what you found was indeed a nudibranch... but to narrow it down the specific organism itself was a california sea hare. and It matches the description: grows to about 1 foot, dark skinned, harmless, and fairly common
CarpetSharkFreak 2 years ago
Shark --- No, I know about animal classification; I teach the stuff (sometimes), though I'm not a biologist. The first time I read about nudibranchs was in one of those little Abbot nature guide books when I was eleven or twelve (I've been a shell collector since I was a kid). I'm familiar with all major Mollusca taxa.
I do appreciate your footwork with respect to finding the species ('Aplysia californica').
The website Nudi Pixel is a great nudibranch resourse.
bapyou 2 years ago
This video is very cool and interesting.
The0Lollipop0 2 years ago
Well, hey! Thanks for the comment. If you live on the west coast of the U.S., you should be able to find an octopus of your own in a rocky tide pool somewhere.
bapyou 2 years ago
whats the plural for octopus?
beanabus 3 years ago
Octopuses or Octopodes are technically correct, but most people use Octopi
SgSpecial180 3 years ago
that must have been cool to watch. Those creatures are very fascinating!
octopusnumber 3 years ago
Thank you for the comment. The octopus is very fascinating to watch. You can find octopuses in almost any rocky tide pool along the west coast of the U.S. I'm not sure about the east coast.
bapyou 3 years ago
ur lucky in easy cost new jersy best i saw was a full grown crab
shredd51 3 years ago
Hello. There may be octopuses on the East Coast. You have to find a rocky location. There aren't many in New Jersey, I know. I used to live on the East Coast and I'm familiar with Jersey beaches. Mostly they're sand beaches. Maybe up in Maine?
bapyou 3 years ago
I live in Maine, and after exploring the rocky coasts on numerous occasions, I have yet to find a single octopus! :(
OlympicClassDandy 3 years ago
Hello. Thank you for adding to the discussion. I'm not really sure if octopus are found along the Maine coast or not. Maybe ask a fisherman or lobsterman if they've ever seen one? If you do, let me know what they say!
I have a book about octopus but the species distribution maps in it are rather poor.
bapyou 3 years ago
The next time I come across one I'll be sure to ask! In the meantime, I'll keep my eyes out for them.
OlympicClassDandy 3 years ago
i'm a marine biologist and i've never seen an octopus in any western tidepools
CarpetSharkFreak 2 years ago
You've never seen a single octopus in any west coast tidepool? Where do you live? Which stretch of coast do you frequent? I don't spend a lot of time at the beach myself. I go once every couple of months or so. I like visiting during a spring tide event best. I've been told by those who frequent the beach far more than me, that seeing an octopus is not all that rare in the rocky tide pools of the California coast. I was lucky to get this footage, imperfect though it is.
bapyou 2 years ago
What aspect of marine life do you study? Wait: Let me guess: Carpet sharks! Am I right? Is a carpet shark the type you see in the sandy bottom close to the beach? Or is it a deep water specie?
I think tide pools are fascinating. Although I didn't capture any video of it, the last time I was at the beach where I shot this octopus video, I saw a few really large (~25-30 cm long) nudibranchs. They were a very dark, mottled brown color.
bapyou 2 years ago
haha... nonono, carpet sharks are like a nick name for ferrets. I have two pet ferrets and i loooove them!!! The nudibranchs you saw sound awsome, were they some kind of spotted doris or did you mistake nudibranchs for gumboot chitons (giant pacific chitons)? what beaches are you tiding at... i'd like to know, they sound great.
CarpetSharkFreak 2 years ago
The place I saw the nudibranchs is same as this video: Leo Carillo State Beach. They were definitely nudibranchs and not chitons. They had no shells whatsoever. I don't know what a spotted doris is, but I do know nudibranchs in general.
What aspect of marine life do you study?
bapyou 2 years ago
I work raising pacific fish fry and nymphs to maturity in a hatchery at an aquarium.
A spotted doris is a species of nudibranch, very common, and when you think of "sea slug" then that pretty much explains them, but i've never seen one bigger than my palm.
What you explained sounds A LOT like a giant pacific chiton.... the size the coloring.... and gumboots don't look like your everyday chiton.... they're different. Do you know what a gumboot is? have you ever seen one? look them both up.
CarpetSharkFreak 2 years ago
It was definitely not a chiton. Chitons have 8 plated shells, right? This was more like a slug with a cephalus, antennae, and eyes. I've looked at what pics are available from Google for gumboot chiton. They don't look anything like the creature I saw in the tide pool back in May.
I once found an obscure website that included a description of the "largest nudibrach in the world." It was a specie found along the Calif coast, but I don't recall its name. I think that was the critter I saw.
bapyou 2 years ago
yah they got 8 plates, but gumboots have a thin layer of skin that covers their plates. Anyways, your right, it wouldn't have antenae or eyes... so its no gumboot.
CarpetSharkFreak 2 years ago
Hello CarpetShark.
Looking through my files today I found some video of the big sea slug that I saw in the tide pool back in May. When I have time I will edit a video together and post this footage. In the video the creature appears to be grazing on some vegetation, and I captured it locomoting as well. I'll let you know when I post the video ... or if you subscribe you'll get a notice.
Bruce/bapyou
bapyou 2 years ago
awsome. I'm really interested in this odd little... haha, big actually..... critter you found
CarpetSharkFreak 2 years ago
CarpetShark:
I'm preparing the video for upload now. It should be on my channel in about an hour or so (about 6 pm Pacific Time/9 pm Eastern).
bapyou 2 years ago
for some reason my computer won't let me comment anymore
CarpetSharkFreak 2 years ago
Well, I've received your comment. So there.
bapyou 2 years ago
god, you should have smacked that little irritating spic bitch in the background
DLFerrariFan 3 years ago
And then what?
bapyou 3 years ago
very nice
kikikikia 3 years ago
Totally octo AWESOME. As usual bruce you bring us the good stuff. 5 * worthy
bushuraloser 3 years ago
hmmm...very interesting creature...very slithery...never saw one on the beach here on the east coast...will look more closely at tide pools in future...you should have caught him and had him for dinner!
jerseyroselee 3 years ago
Thats cool,low tides reveal a different veiw.
davidsquall351 3 years ago
did jeet em!!
toddrunt 3 years ago
No, I didn't "eat him" you butthole. I filmed him. He got away free.
bapyou 3 years ago
In Japan, they throw octopuses on the floor and occasionally hose them down. Guaranteed fresh. I think it's sad since they are extremely intelligent cephalopods.
CadicusTheDamned 3 years ago
I have a great older book about octpuses (octopi?) called 'Kingdom of the Octopus' by Frank W. Lane. In the book Lane writes that they can't survive in fresh water for very long. I'm guessing it's fresh water they use when they "hose them down" in Japan? From a culinary standpoint, that sounds about right. :) Lane also concurs with your assessment of octopus intelligence. Many experiments demonstarte it.
bapyou 3 years ago