Slimy critters found on Peisar Island, Alaska

This is still part of my effort to promote beachcombing, which also includes living animals often found at low tide. Here is a small selection from that same morning walk, of photos taken between rain squalls.

This little kelp crab is Pugettia richii:


And this black-clawed crab is called Lophopanopeus bellus:


This is one of my favorite crabs, the diminutive Petrolisthes eriomerus:


I think this is a sea cucumber I hadn't spotted before, the Cucumaria pallida, which is closely related to the other blob on the same rock, the very common Cucumaria miniata:


Clingfishes (also known as sucker fishes) are just really fun to harass. This one is called Sicyogaster maeandricus:


These are two forms of the starfish Henricia leviuscula, and the commensal scale worm on the arm of the larger specimen may be an Arctonoe vittata:


This tiny starfish belongs to a difficult genus: the Leptasterias, or six-armed star. I think this one belongs to the Leptasterias hexactis species complex:


This one is easy and ubiquitous. It smells somewhat like garlic, and is called Dermasterias imbricata:


This is a shell of the Oregon triton, known in Latin as Fusitriton oregonensis. They usually lose their hair before I find them.


This is the "ugly clam," or Entodesma navicula. According to seashell collector, the "outer skin" shrinks as it dries, and causes the shell to implode. A preventative measure is to soak the shell in glycerin.


And this is Cryptochiton stelleri, usually just called "gumboot chiton. Its little hitch-hiker is an opalescent nudibranch Hermissenda crassicornis. Strangely enough, they are both essentially slugs.


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