SCHMITZ AND ALKI BEACH ROAM 5-20-15

From cool and cloudy to warm and sunny at the beach today.  A minus 2.2 ft. tide exposed some interesting marine life.  Enjoyed the company of a lovely lady from Chicago...Sue who was visiting Seattle and checking out marine life.  I was happy to see that she got her very first introduction to a Moon Snail. 
 I noted that there were a few dozen (no actual count) Purple Stars on the condo pilings south of Constellation Marine Reserve.  There were three that had very low level of SSWD (Sea Star Wasting Disease).  Most of the stars were full adult size with a few smaller ones.
One strange thing:  Shells of a dead clam were firmly wedged in the clay hole of a Piddock Clam.  It took sometime to wiggle the shells out of the hole....it turned out to be shells of a Butter Clam.
I can only surmise that the Butter Clam ended up in the hole as a juvenile and grew up inside the hole....and died there. Never seen anything like that before.

Sue from Chicago introduced to Moon Snail

Thickclaw Porcelain Crab Pachycheles rudis
 

Thickclaw Porcelain Crab with eggs

 

Piddock Clams in clay

Monterey Dorid - Sea Lemon

Mottled Anemones - Purple Star - Keyhole Limpet

Purple Star on condo piling

Purple Stars (one with low level SSWD - lower right)



Mystery clam shell in Piddock hole



Not a Piddock but a Butter Clam shell