Staghorn Coral
Staghorn coral (Acropora sp.) is considered to be a fast growing coral species. Of course fast for coral is 4-8 inches (10-20 cm) per year… Scientists estimate there are nearly 400 species of staghorn coral, and only scientists can tell them apart.
Off Limits Except for Two Months
Pelican Reserve - we can only dive in this area of Anacapa Island, California during November and December. I look forward to diving here every year. The visibility is usually very good and the kelp forest looks very healthy. It is one of the prettiest dive sites at Anacapa Island.
Camouflaged Fish
How many leaf fish do you see?They are very well camouflaged. The pale colored one on the right side is pretty easy to spot. There is a second one to left that is darker and better camouflaged. Taenianotus triacanthus (leaf fish, paperfish) is found in tropical waters ranging from Indo-Pacific to east Africa and the Red Sea.
Strange Creatures at Santa Rosa
Melibe leonina (hooded nudibranch) is a very strange looking sea slug. The tentacle-fringed oral hood is expandable and actively used to capture prey. They can swim by flexing the body back and forth. It has translucent body with paddle-shaped dorsal appendages. They almost look like a cute and strange creature from anime or Sci Fi movie. Once in a while we see a large aggregation of these nudibranchs on giant kelp at Santa Rosa Island, California. Their range stretches from Alaska to California.
What is a Crinoid?
Crinoids, or feather stars, look like ferns or a bunch of feathers, but they are actually free-swimming marine invertebrate animals. Their feather-like arms are covered with sticky mucous and if you brush against them they stick to your wetsuit, gloves, hands, etc. and it is quite difficult to get them off. They are very pretty, especially when there are a few of them on a reef and have colorful anthias swimming around them.
