Tide of the Pulpo

Dear class, 

5/24 

The rocky shore almost hidden behind the Vina del Mar was our host this morning for tidepooling around 8 am during the lowest tide. This spot was host to many species that we have seen variations before while tide pooling in front of CEDO. There were many creatures we saw but two organisms that were abundant under these rocks were brittle stars and sea cucumbers. On this rocky shore we were able to flip over the rocks as long as they were placed back where they came from; while the sandy/rocky tidal mixture in front of CEDO was a more delicate system that we were encouraged to not disturb too heavily during our search. Because of this perk, it was more exciting to be able to flip a rock and get a quick look at the organisms that would scurry away. Amongst the invertebrates we saw: brittle stars, cucarachas de mar, sea cucumbers, sea urchins, hermit crabs, porcelain crabs, anemones, sponges, sun stars, and chitins came out to say hi. As a treat, the invertebrate that everyone was antsy to see this trip also made an appearance: an octopus!


In octopuses it is easy to see two of the three defining features of the Mollusca phylum. The mantle is the “head” of the octopus while the feet are of course the eight tentacles that they have. Interestingly enough though, the shell that encases the vital organs has evolutionarily disappeared from this organism. This particular octopus was found by Whitney far up along the tidal range, so it was surprising to find them hiding up there. The type was a two-spot octopus about palm size (including tentacles). This specific octopus is in the Mollusca phylum and is named for the mirrored spots they have on either side of their mantle called ocelli. This is where it gets its scientific name “octopus bimaculatus” literally translating to two-spotted. The two spotted octopus is found from central California to northern Baja California and can grow up to 18 in length which is smaller than other two-spot varieties. The one that we spotted though was only the size of my palm with the tentacles included, this made the octopus about 4 in in length. After reading about this species, we were lucky to find this one while it was bright out as they have advanced eyesight to enable its nocturnal behavior. Seeing one of these so high up the coast and during the daytime was truly the highlight of our Friday morning. 





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