Meet the shovelnose guitarfish or Rhinobatos productus, a common resident off California’s southern coast. This was another cool creature caught by the trap set in Long Beach Harbor near the breakwall on Cabrillo Aquarium’s See the Sea trip. According to Probably More Than You Want to Know About the Fishes of the Pacific Coast by… [read more]
Sexual maturity in whales and dolphins
Ah puberty, those awkward years on the road to sexual maturity. It’s not clear if whales and dolphins must also suffer the dramatic ups and downs of the human teenager, but some do have to suffer big differences between the sexes when it comes to the actually timing of sexual maturity. In several posts we’ve… [read more]
Elephant seals: ocean aliens have landed!
Picture an elephant crossed with a seal and add in a little “District 9” alien. The result: the male northern elephant seal or Mirounga angustirostris. The elephant part of the description helps convey the sheer mass of the male elephant seal, plus the shape of its nose. According to the book Elephant Seals by Carole… [read more]
Ravens: practicing monogamy for now
Valentine’s Day has come and gone again…the day set aside for showering that special someone in your life with love, gifts, affection and maybe even an engagement ring. The first step in making the ultimate promise to spend the rest of your life with the person you love or “until death do us part” as… [read more]
Bearded Seals: singing for love
As Valentine’s Day fast approaches, some of the men out there may want to take a few notes on how male bearded seals attract the ladies. These cumbersome looking marine mammals actually woo their women with song! According to the Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals, the songs of the bearded seal can make the heart ache.… [read more]
Sanderlings: always on the run
The sanderlings or Calidris alba are the cute little birds obsessively running in and out with the tide. Sanderlings are pretty small, averaging 7.5 inches in length and weighing about 2.5 ounces. Females and males look alike with soft black eyes, dark black legs and feet, light gray feathers on the back and head, bright… [read more]
Snowy Plover: dirty square dancing in the sand
To live on the beach, bask in the sun, scrape a nest in the sand, run near the waves and make love along the dunes is to live the life of a snowy plover. Western snowy plovers or Charadrius alexandrines nivosus are cute little birds that inhabit prime waterfront property along California’s coast and inland… [read more]
Bushtit: long-tailed tits are birds, seriously
It’s a promising start when you flip open a book and the words at the top of the page are Long-Tailed Tits. Reading further it becomes clear that this is actually the common name for the family of birds Aegithalidae, sharing small bodies, short wings and long tails. What a relief, I am reading National… [read more]
California Sea Lions: size doesn’t always matter
Imagine the challenges of dating someone four times your size, especially during the intimate times. This is the reality of a female California sea lion. Well-known residents of the South Bay, California sea lions, officially named Zalophus californianus, are frequently seen swimming near shore, chasing fish or lounging on buoys. But what goes on behind… [read more]