Beach finds at Swansea Bay 2

Crepidula fornicate shell with Spirobranchia triqueter

Small scallop shell with barnacle attached on beach sand

Oyster shell with natural encrusting worm tubes

Seashell with natural encrustations on a sandy beach

Ripple pattern made by the wind in dry sand

Marine worm tube encrustations on an empty seashell at the beach

She sees more seashells on the seashore strandlines at Swansea Bay.

6 Replies to “Beach finds at Swansea Bay 2”

Linda Grashoff says:

August 15, 2018 at 5:12 pm

I’m so glad you said something about the “lace-like sea mat or Bryozoa.” I’ve seen that lacey stuff and never connected it with Bryozoa, which I’d only identified as this stuff: https://lindagrashoff.wordpress.com/other-files/bryozoa/, obviously a different genus.

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winderjssc says:

August 15, 2018 at 7:50 pm

Yes, your photograph shows something very different from mine. Bryozoa come in all shapes and sizes. Most are marine but some are freshwater. Many are fleshy and three-dimensional and coloured too. My lace-like bryozoan is the remains of a marine encrusting flat form of colony. Some parts are missing along with the animals themselves. Your picture is so juicy and brightly coloured that it reminds me a lot of some colonial sea squirts such as Botryllus schlosseri (star sea squirt). Where did you find your specimen?

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Linda Grashoff says:

August 15, 2018 at 9:39 pm

These were in the water (Sarasota Bay on the Gulf of Mexico) off the Quick Point Nature Preserve in Sarasota, Florida. I often see them underneath a bridge under the highway there, but not always. I’ve seen some elsewhere in Sarasota Bay, but the day I found these was the best day ever for finding them. I’ve also seen sea cucumbers in the bay. They look similar, too. See https://wordpress.com/page/lindagrashoff.wordpress.com/10005.

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winderjssc says:

August 17, 2018 at 8:39 am

Thank you, Linda. Very interesting. Sounds like it is a great place for spotting sea creatures. Unfortunately I am unable to access the sea cucumber image. I have never seen one in the wild.

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Linda Grashoff says:

August 18, 2018 at 1:56 pm

I’m sorry about that bad link, Jessica. Try this: https://lindagrashoff.wordpress.com/other-files/sea-cucumbers/.

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winderjssc says:

August 19, 2018 at 8:13 am

Wonderful creatures. I remember now that I had seen some in a touch-pool tank at an aquarium in Oregon – but never in the wild. usually it is the sort of animal that only divers find here. Thank you, Linda.

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