[FIELDNOTE] Sea Gooseberry

There is never a shortage of science lessons here on our island. It's sometimes overwhelming, just how much there is to learn about our island. It's a speckle on the globe but massive in the hearts of those that are lucky enough to call Bowen Island home.

Speaking of speckles - look at this tiny little creature we found at Tunstall Bay earlier this week. I remember finding these little guys as a kid and thinking they were baby jellyfish (a pretty good guess, considering they're round, gelatinous and have tentacles). But I was wrong - turns out these little guys are actually a ctenophore, not a jellyfish.

I found this little one at the edge of the water - it looked like a bubble or a marble when the light hit it - very easy to miss but luckily my beach combing eyesight is pretty strong (lots of practice).

Identification

The cat's eye comb jelly is actually a ctenophore, not a jellyfish. It has a small, transparent, round or egg-shaped body, and reaches only 2 cm in diameter. When in water its "combs" or rows of cilia flash a variety of colours. Its two long, retractable tentacles trail behind its body, can be 15 cm long, and may be coloured pink, yellow, white, or brownish. When washed up dead on shore, this creature tends to resemble a transparent marble.

The rainbow of colours created when the rows of cilia beat are sometimes visible in photos, but are better experienced live. 

Habitat & Range 

This species usually appears in swarms, near the surface of nearshore waters. It is found on the west coast of North America from southern Alaska to northern Mexico. 

Intriguing Info 

This species preys on copepods, larval fish, eggs, and other creatures that are small enough for it to ingest. It waits for its prey to come to it, with its tentacles and their small side branches (tentillae) extended. When prey comes in contact with the sticky tentacles, they are retracted as the comb jelly swims forward. It manoeuvres its body around to bring the prey close to its mouth. 

Source: Central Coast Biodiversity

How incredibly cool is that?? I wish I had had a bucket that day to watch it swim. Lesson learned...never visit the beach without a container as you never know what little miracles you're going to find xox