PNW Sea Critter of the Month - March: Pacific Spiny Lumpsucker
#1
Posted 02 March 2006 - 04:59 PM
Eumicrotremus orbis
Snailfish-Cyclopteridae Family
Description: Cute! Globular head and body. Cone-shaped lumps cover the head and body. Wide range of colors including shades of brown to green, red, purple, and orange, often with yellow or orange highlights. The pectoral fins form a wide suction cup that covers the entire breast.
Color: They take on the color of their habitat. Green, dark reds and browns.
Range: Common to uncommon northern Washington to Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Also found in Siberia, Russia.
Size: Very small (the one pictured here was about 1.5 inches). Length up to 5 inches. A lot of divers miss these, so you have to go SLOW!
Habitat: Live in a wide range of habitats, including eelgrass beds to rocky areas with kelp; also in shallow bays around docks. As with most members of the Snailfish family, the Lumpsucker has a suction disk on the underside of it's body. It uses this disk to hold on to solid objects in heavy currents. In the Puget Sound area, they are often found attached to the brown kelp.
Depth: Intertidal to 60 ft.
Behavior: Slow, inefficient swimmers. Remain still, apparently relying on camouflage. Move only when disturbed. Attaches to solid objects with their suction cup.
ID Clues: It has a squarish foredorsal fin which is widely separated from the second dorsal fin.
Once in a while, it is good to step back, take a breath, and remember to be humble. You'll never know it all - ScubaDadMiami. If you aren't afraid of dying, there is nothing you can't achieve - Lao-tzu. One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him - Chinese Proverb.
#2
Posted 02 March 2006 - 05:45 PM
Edited by drbill, 02 March 2006 - 05:46 PM.
#3
Posted 02 March 2006 - 05:50 PM
Once in a while, it is good to step back, take a breath, and remember to be humble. You'll never know it all - ScubaDadMiami. If you aren't afraid of dying, there is nothing you can't achieve - Lao-tzu. One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him - Chinese Proverb.
#4
Posted 02 March 2006 - 06:23 PM
#5
Posted 02 March 2006 - 07:02 PM
Once in a while, it is good to step back, take a breath, and remember to be humble. You'll never know it all - ScubaDadMiami. If you aren't afraid of dying, there is nothing you can't achieve - Lao-tzu. One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him - Chinese Proverb.
#6
Posted 02 March 2006 - 09:56 PM
Hey wait a minute!! I think I may have been called cute before! DOH!
Well if you have it must have been a REALLY BAD hair day!
#7
Posted 02 March 2006 - 10:00 PM
Now that is one ugly fish... would love to film one if it didn't require a drysuit!
I don't think these fish care much what kind of suit you're wearing.
"A good marriage is like an interlocking neurosis, where the rocks in one person's head fill up the holes in the other's."
#8
Posted 02 March 2006 - 10:53 PM
Every time I dive darlin', every time I dive!Hey wait a minute!! I think I may have been called cute before! DOH!
Well if you have it must have been a REALLY BAD hair day!
Once in a while, it is good to step back, take a breath, and remember to be humble. You'll never know it all - ScubaDadMiami. If you aren't afraid of dying, there is nothing you can't achieve - Lao-tzu. One dog barks at something, the rest bark at him - Chinese Proverb.
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