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Mike Kelly

@mikesidkelly.bsky.social
705 followers 520 following 142 posts

Retired fish biologist. Fossils, invertebrates, tide pools, fish, weather, atmospheric optics. Humboldt nature photography. Peace Corps Mali. Washed Up column in the North Coast Journal www.northcoastjournal.com/category/…

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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
Introduce yourself with 10 acts you've seen live. Neil Young Stephen Stills Zappa Plays Zappa The Who Tom Petty Thomas Mapfumo Salif Keita Oumou Sangare Hamza El Din Habib Koite
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 30/05/2026
I guess this is my most obviously political Washed Up. Hopefully someone will be offended... www.northcoastjournal.com/life-outdoor...
northcoastjournal.com
Ladybug Wind Deniers - North Coast Journal
“It’s the wrong time to go, folks. It’s a warm spring day, but there’s a Devil Wind a-blowin’,” said a ladybug to the hundreds of others huddled together waiting for the right time to emerge from my s...
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 15/04/2025
My new story in the NCJ. Why purple-striped sea nettles and billionaires don't mix. www.northcoastjournal.com/life-outdoor...
northcoastjournal.com
Purple Jellies of Doom
Hi there. I'm a stranger from the future here to beg you to stop reading these Washed Up stories. The asshole who writes them made...
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 13/02/2025
Here's installment 2 of my jellyfish trilogy in the North Coast Journal. Please enjoy responsibly... www.northcoastjournal.com/life-outdoor...
northcoastjournal.com
Sea Nettle Babymaking
A local grocery store was overstocked, so they had a big sale. When I arrived, the place was packed with people having sex and grabbing...
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Reposted by Mike Kelly
Cri 🕊🐝🐜📝🎭⚽😷 @crawlieswithcri.bsky.social · 11/02/2025
The world is covered in teeny jewels! An ab fab Genus Arhyssus Scentless Plant Bug for #TrueBugTuesday #becurious #inverts
Macro photo of a tiny true bug on a dried flower. the view is looking down at the top of the bug. they are white dotted with red dots. they also have blue and gold color on their wings and lavender eyes.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 19/01/2025
Lots of fun (and science!) here. Get your science-based New Yorker comic fix! bsky.app/profile/hime...
bsky.app
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 10/01/2025
My new Washed Up story in the North Coast Journal. If this one makes you hungry, eat anything other than Sugar Frosted Moon Flakes. www.northcoastjournal.com/life-outdoor...
northcoastjournal.com
Moon Jellies for Breakfast
We at Washed-up Foods Inc. are preparing to launch our first breakfast cereal. It's called Sugar Frosted Moon Flakes. It's made from our local moon...
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Here are clips of some of the bigger sets that came in during the big California surf on Dec 23. From Wedding Rock at Sue-meg State Park. #Humboldt youtu.be/gESK9Iq9QdM
youtu.be
Big Surf December 23, 2024 Humboldt County, California
YouTube video by M. Sid Kelly (HumboldtMike)
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 31/12/2024
Here are some clips of the breach at Stone Lagoon on Sunday. This was shortly after the breach began and shows the breach channel still forming. #Humboldt youtu.be/Ak-Clx8ZU7o
youtu.be
Stone Lagoon Breach 12 29 24
YouTube video by M. Sid Kelly (HumboldtMike)
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 25/12/2024
Merry Christmas everyone!🎅🤶🎄
A light tan sea slug with many dark brown spots across its body. The spots have white rings around them, and are biggest on the top and very small around the margin. It has two thick feathery antennae in front, and an out-of-focus rosette of gills at the back. It is crawling from upper right to lower left on a rock encrusted with some kind of brown organism(s). Most importantly, it is wearing a Photoshopped-on Santa hat.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
I'm not certain, but I think this is a Pugettia decorator crab. I wouldn't expect it to be comfortable encircled by the tentacles of a giant green anemone, but that's how it seemed. In a #Humboldt tide pool - for #Crustmas.
A crab sitting on top of a green anemone surrounded by the anemone's tentacles seen from above. The crab is triangular and widest at the back, and has at least 3 prominent bumps on each side, and a blunt projection on its face. It is likely a decorator crab, but only has a covering a gungy-looking brown stuff on it. Its walking legs are evenly spread around its body. There should be 8 legs, but only 6 are visible. I assume the other pair is obscured by the crab's claws, which are cocked out in front of it and white at the tips. The anemone is mostly bright green, but the upper half of the tentacles are bluish at the ends, and the lower ones are whitish at the ends. The tentacles are arranged in circles around the central disc, which is a pale greenish blue. There are 4 or 5 rows of tentacles visible around the circumference. The background is a large rock with some red encrusting organisms on it.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
A larval herring and a recently transformed herring fry sampled in a tidal pond on #Humboldt Bay for #Fishmas. 🐟
Two fish of the same herring species, but at different stages of development. The fish are next to each other on a white measuring board which indicates that they are between 4 and 5 centimeters long. The lower fish is mostly transparent with a thin black line along its side, a thicker black line along its belly, and a few black spots scattered around its head and body. The part of the belly where the guts are appears silver and not transparent. And the very bottom of the belly is pale orange. Its fins are so transparent as to be invisible. The fish on top is up-side down relative to to the lower fish. Its body has transformed into an opaque silver. It has many very find black specks arranged in rows across its back and on its tail fin rays. It's dorsal fin also has some fine specks along the rays. It's lower body has many almost vertical lines that appear associated with the underlying muscles. Both fish have large silver eyes and black pupils.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
I believe this is a yellowtail rockfish in a #Humboldt tide pool for #Fishmas. 🐟🤿
A rockfish with a bass-like appearance suspended just off the bottom. The bottom is mostly small gray gravel and one clam shell in the lower left. The background is a large rock with patches of pink, red, and brown algae on it. The fish is facing to the right. Its eye is large, and the black pupil is ringed in bright gold. The mouth is closed, but appears relatively large. The fish has prominent scales. The gill cover has some bright yellow highlights. The rest of the head is greening on top, pale gray around the mouth, and with some scattered small brown patches. The body has a pinkish background with many small brown spots below the mid-body, and brown blotches above . The fins are relatively large and unpigmented.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 21/12/2024
A porcelain crab with an injured "thumb" exposed at low tide in #Humboldt for #Crustmas. 🦀
A crab with relatively very large claws. Each claw looks bigger than the crab's body. The crab is exposed on a rock at low tide. The crab is brick red, but has areas that seem covered with grayish brown hairs and/or other material. The crab's left claw is missing its "thumb" and there is a bit of white meat exposed there. In the frame, the crab is facing up and holding its large claws folded in front of its face. The legs on the crab's left side are hidden behind some dark brownish red algae. Three legs are visible on the right side. The end of each leg has several spikes or hooks - almost like little toes. Its antennae are many-segmented, bright red, and held back behind the crab. The crab's eyes are a dark purple color. The background rock is encrusted with red algae, small barnacles, and there's an oval limpet just above the right "elbow" of the crab.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
For #Crustmas - a long isopod on the stipe of a kelp that was washed up on the beach and taken into the lab. I believe it is the kelp isopod Pentidotea.
A very long and thin isopod crustacean on a kelp stem. The isopod has the look of a centipede. It is on top of and parallel to the stem and is facing toward the left. The view is side-on. The isopod is gripping the stem with six of its apparently seven pairs of legs. It has long antennae that are pointing forward and appear to be a little over half the length of the body. The overall color of the isopod is tan, but it has a dark line across the body where each of its seven body segments meet. It also has five or six fainter lines that run from head to tail evenly spread across the upper body. Its legs are transparent.  A small eye is visible. The kelp stem is dark brown, and there is a second stem above this one and the isopod. The background is the tangled root-like holdfast of the kelp, and it is a much lighter yellowish brown.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
For #Fishmas - a jacksmelt riding his osprey sleigh to bring presents to all the good little children. #Humboldt 🐟
An osprey carrying a fish. The picture is shot from an angle below the osprey so mainly the underside of the bird is visible. It is flying to the right. The beak and talons are black, the feather sticking out from the wing tips are black. There is a black V-shaped mark extending from the bird's eye, down to its throat, then up to the top of the neck. The top of the head and chin are white. The chest, belly and most of the under-wing are white. The trailing feathers on the wing are black and gray. The fish is facing forward - being held that way by the osprey to minimize drag. The fish is gray on top and white on the underside. It is long and relatively thin. Its eye is large and its mouth is small. It has a yellow mark on its gill cover. And there is blood on the back half of the fish's belly where the talons are gripping it. The background is blue sky.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
A cluster of goose barnacles in a #Humboldt tide pool for #Crustmas. 🤿
A cluster of about 40 stalked barnacles. Each barnacle is made up of triangular white plates of varying sizes. The opening of each barnacle looks like vertical bright red lips. From inside of each barnacle a series of long thin banded brown and white projections reach out like fingers attempting to grab food. The stalks, which are mostly not visible, are leathery looking with a fine texture resembling sandpaper.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 18/12/2024
For #Fishmas a smoothhead sculpin, I believe, in a #Humboldt tide pool with a bonus Hermissenda nudibranch. 🐟🤿
A fish resting on a bed of pink coralline algae with thin fronds of reddish brown algae scattered around and some gravel in brown white and grey under the fish's tail. It is facing toward the left and is shot so the back and left side are visible. Over all, the fish is gray with some brown patches on the body. The head from just behind the eyes to the snout is mottled brown and gray, and there's a large almost white saddle-like patch behind the eyes. Behind the saddle is a brown band that goes over the back and is the same mottled brown as the fish's face. The fish has a large head relative to its body. Its eyes sort of bug out, and are gray with two pairs of dark brown starburst-like lines extending out from the black pupil. There is also an orange, red, blue and white sea slug in the algae next to the fish's pectoral fin.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 16/12/2024
A combo #Fishmas and #Crustmas post... A small lingcod from #Humboldt Bay with dozens of copepods living on its body. The fish and its "friends" were released to continue their affair.
A hand holding a fish around the body right behind the gills and pectoral fins. The rest of the fish's body is outside of the frame. The fish's head is pointing upwards. It has a relatively large mouth, and the tips of about 10 of its large sharp teeth are showing. The eye is relatively large, but only the upper 2/3 of the eye is visible. The rest of the eye is sort of nestled into the cheek. The eye is mostly dark brown, but there is a bright gold patch at the back of the eye, and the black pupil is encircle by a thin gold ring. The background color of the fish ranges from white to light blue, and is covered in large brown blotches and scattered small dark brown spots. The background is blue water.The belly of the same fish with about 20 visible copepods stuck onto it. The copepods are maybe 1/4 of an inch long, have a oval head and body area, and two thin finger-like projects pointing behind the body. These projections are parallel and touching in most of the copepods. The copepods are mostly transparent, and range from very pale to darker orange. The fish's belly is white and covered by many tiny specks that seem to be related to the scales. The flank of the fish is the same combination of brown blotches and smaller dark spots as in the other picture.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
I believe this is the lined shore crab - Pachygrapsus - exposed at low tide in #Humboldt for #Crustmas. 🦀
Looking at the face of a crab out of the water. It's claws are relatively large, but the claw tips are hidden behind a large barnacle. The claws are mainly brownish orange with spots that are kind of in a giraffe pattern with lighter blotches separated by darker brownish orange. Each of the blotches is subdivided into several sections by darker lines. The pinchers of the claws fade to white. The upper claws and legs are dark purple. Some of the mouthparts have light blue and green bits, but are mostly white and cream colored. Its eyes are on short stalks and are black. The visible front portion of the shell appears black and has faint transverse lines. There are at least four small barnacles on its left claw, and about a dozen small barnacles on the front of the shell between its eyes. The rock it is on contains barnacles, mussels in the top right, and a lot of stringy brown algae.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 15/12/2024
I believe this is a grass rockfish - in a #Humboldt tide pool for #Fishmas. There are also 2 green marine leeches on the 4th dorsal spine. I couldn't find a leech emoji though... 🐟🤿
A robust fish resting on the bottom between large greenish gray rocks and on top of gravel. It is facing to the left and is seen side-on. The fish is an orangish brown color with many irregular darker blotches on the body, including five darker and larger blotches on the back just below the dorsal fins. It has a large head and mouth, and a large eye. The pupil of the eye is within a bright golden ring. The scales of the fish are prominent, and the lateral line stands out clearly. The fins are large, and the bottom half of the pectoral fin has pinkish fleshy rays. There are two green leeches on top of the 4th dorsal spine. Above the fish there is a big yellow blob that is the base of a large sea anemone. The tip of the fish's snout is behind a small reddish brown algae frond, and there are other red, brown and pink algae encrusting the rock in front of the fish's head.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
A hermit crab of some kind in a #Humboldt tide pool for this 14th day of #Crustmas. (The shell is from a wentletrap snail.) 🦀🤿
A small hermit crab climbing around in some pink coralline algae. Its claws and legs are light yellow, while its antennae, mouthparts, and eye stalks are red. The shell it's in is white and forms a high spire with nine whorls which terminate in a little button-like point. The crab is in the lower right central part of the image, and the shell extends almost to the upper left corner. Each whorl has many transverse prominent ridges including on the largest whorl right above the crabs face. The crab is peaking out from under this ridge, and its eyes appear to be reflecting light from the camera's flash. The algae has a central stalk made of segments, and each segment holds two lateral branches that extend outwards at a 45-degree angle. The algae is pinkish, and each branch has a white tip. There are also many small dark brown objects clinging to the algae, which may be diatoms.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 14/12/2024
A rockhead poacher in a #Humboldt tide pool at night for this 14th day of #Fishmas. 🐟🤿🌙
A mostly bright orange fish resting on the bottom on top of some gray rocks that are almost as big as the fish. The surrounding rocks are encrusted with pink algae and there are a few blades of dark green surf grass crisscrossing the picture. The fish is seen from above, but at an angle so that only one eye is visible. It is facing to the right. The fish has a relatively large head with two prominent bumps where horns on a goat would be. It has many other bumps around its cheek area, and an indentation on top of its robust head between the two larger bumps. It's no surprise that this fish is called a "rockhead" poacher. Its body tapers abruptly from its head. The body appears to be squarish in cross-section and has a series of many bony-looking plates that form ridges along the side and top of the body. There are also three black bands on the body, but they are incomplete and kind of blotchy. The fan-like pectoral fins appear to be shiny and black and seem to be reflecting some of the orange from the fish. The two small dorsal fins are also dark. The eye is black and yellow with the colors arranged in a sort-of kaleidoscope pattern. The head tapers to a blunt point and the eye is very near the end. The mouth is not visible, but it must be small. Overall, it is a very strange looking fish.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
For #Crustmas, a so-called skeleton shrimp (a caprellid amphipod) on a kelp holdfast with smaller caprellid hanging on. They were on a washed-up kelp holdfast on a #Humboldt beach and taken into the lab. 🦐
This is a difficult one to describe. The main subject is a so-called skeleton shrimp, which does look a little like a human skeleton. It is long and skinny, and is standing upright using several short legs with a hook at the end of each. It happens to be standing on the head of a goose barnacle. Its body is made up of 13 segments and terminates in a head that has a pair of segmented antennae, feathery mouthparts, and hooked mouthparts. The segment below the head has two arms, but just one is visible. The arms are held out to the side and have a hook at the end. The body is translucent with pale brown dots scattered over it. The antennae alternate bands of this same brown color. There is also a rounded structure at the midsection which looks sort of like a beer belly. There is a second much smaller skeleton shrimp clinging to the leg area of the larger one and leaning back in a curve shape from left to right. The large one is facing to the left. The background is a tangle of thick kelp root-like structures that are the same brown color as the markings on the skeleton shrimp. There is a second barnacle visible out of focus in the background.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 13/12/2024
A gunnel peeking out from coralline algae in a #Humboldt tide pool for #Fishmas. 🐟🤿
A long and thin eel-like fish poking its head out from within a tangle of pink algae. The fish's face is at the lower left center, and its long body curves up to the right and then bends down to the lower right. Most of the body is somewhat obscured by the algae. The fish is probably evenly greenish brown, but the camera flash makes the face and head appear brighter than the body. There are numerous tiny light spots on the body. The mouth is small, but has relatively fat lips. The eye is mostly orange, but there is a ring of gold around the pupil. The black pupil also has a gold inverted V shape in it. There is also a black line that runs from the cheek below the eyes and over the top of the head. The long dorsal and anal fins are also visible through the algae.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
A purple shore crab exposed at low tide in #Humboldt for #Crustmas 🦀
A small crab with relatively large claws on small gray gravel out of the water. Most of the upper body and legs are dark purple. The top of the body also has lots of small white spots and several larger spots that are arranged symmetrically on each side. There is also a crescent-shaped red patch on the upper body that ends just behind each eye. The claws are folded under the crab and are pink with many purple spots covering them. The eyes are black and on short stalks and they are peeking out through gaps in the front margin of the shell. The crab is backed up against a large dark rock with many scattered small barnacles attached.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 12/12/2024
A small topsmelt in a #Humboldt tide pool at night for #Fishmas.
A long relatively thin baitfish-like fish seen from the side and facing to the left. The fish has a small mouth and large black and silver eye. It has a black line along the middle of its body, which extends from just behind the gill to the base of the tail. There is a thin bright electric-green line running along the top margin of the thicker black line. And there is a bright yellow area running under the black line at the front half of the dish. There is a small splash of electric blue and green at the base of the tail. The picture was taken using a flash, which is what makes the fish look so bright. Its fins are pale and transparent. The scales above the black line are darkly edged and prominent, while the scales below the line are less so. A noticeable feature of this fish is how high the pectoral fins are placed on its body - higher than its gill plate. The background is a thick bunch of fine brown algae on the left and lower parts of the picture, and the upper right portion is mostly just black open water. There are also spots of backscatter.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
Two views of northern kelp crabs in #Humboldt tide pools for #Crustmas. 🦀🤿
View of a crab from underneath with its large claws pointing downward. The claws are mostly pink with a hint of blue along the top edge, and orange and white patches at the business end. The underside of the crab is bright red, and the mouthparts are white in the middle, red on the outside, and each side has two small black spots on the lower segment and one large brown patch on the upper segment. It is perched on a brown alga with a thick stem and many fronds along the edges. There is also gray gravel with encrusting pink algae on the large rocks.A view of the same species of crab as the other picture, but seen from above. The body is brown and shield-shaped - rounded at the back with a prominent point on each side, which stick out like pointed shoulders. Inward from these points the shell curves toward the crab's face where the shell forms a double-tipped point. Its relatively large claws are bright red, and are tucked under its face like it might be feeding. It is sitting on gray gravel and is facing the top of the frame.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 11/12/2024
I believe this is a fluffy sculpin (Oligocottus snyderi) in a #Humboldt tide pool for #Fishmas. 🐟🤿
A small fish with large eyes and a small mouth resting on the bottom in scattered gravel. It is facing at an angle from right to left in semi-profile. It is mostly brown with white mottling on its head, and larger white blotches running the length of its body. The fin rays under its chin are like long fingers and look kind of like the fleshy whiskers of a catfish, and they are pink and light blue. The background gravel is greenish gray with patches of red and pink encrusting algae. There are also three blades of marine grass at the top of the frame over the fish.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
A Pacific rock crab in a #Humboldt tide pool for #Crustmas. 🦀🤿
A robust crab with stout claws resting on the bottom. Its back is heavily mottled in orange and black. Its claws are mottled in a more delicate orange and brown pattern. The tips of the claws are black. The legs are mostly pink with some white at the joints. The eyes are red. The margins of the back have nine tooth-like projections on each side. And there are numerous short hairs along the front margin. The background is gray gravel with a brown alga behind the crab, and another alga in the lower right. The crab's body is positioned from the lower left to the upper right and it is facing to the right.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 10/12/2024
Today's #Fishmas entry is a cabezon in a #Humboldt tidepool at night. 🐟🤿🌙
A very colorful and heavily patterned fish resting on the bottom with its head to the right on a large gray rock, its mid-rection on gray gravel, and its back-end on another larger rock that is encrusted with red algae. The colors are a combination of yellow, pink, orange, brown and white. All of the colors other than the white are arranged as blotches all over the body and head. The white is mainly on the base and margins of the pectoral fin and anal fin. The eye is dark red with a lighter ring around the black pupil. The pectoral fin is large and fan-like, with several dark bands interspersed with different colors. The fish has two feathery projections above its eyes and a very large head. The area around the fish contains a lot of pink and brown algae, some other small organisms like anemones, and a large-ish round snail below the fish's head.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
For #Crustmas, the sea slater isopod Ligia in a #Humboldt sea cave.🦀
A slate-gray isopod on the wall of a cave near the high tide mark. It is facing left to right and is roughly an oval shape and flat. It has seven broad body plates between the head and tail. The tail area has around six additional segments before the two long tail parts sticking out the back. The head is relatively small with two large black eyes and two long segmented antennae. The vertical wall it is crawling on is wet, has a lot of grooves and pits in it, and appears to have a coating of reddish algae growing on it. And there are a bunch of barnacles surrounding it.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
For #Fishmas, a buffalo sculpin in a #Humboldt tide pool at night. 🐟🤿
A sculpin fish with a very large head resting on the bottom. The fish is facing left to right. Its head is a light tan color and is finely mottled. The back edge of the head in the "ear position" has a prominent spine. The body has a couple of broad white and tan bands with almost-black bands in between. The fish is supported on its large pectoral fins, which are almost black with a large white blotch in the middle, and several cream-colored spots scattered over it. The eye is cream-colored with a black center and a white inverted V shape in it. Its head is resting on a large gray rock, and there are smaller rocks under the body. There is a round black snail on the rock above the fish. There is a pink alga at the far left, and a dark brown one in the upper right.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 09/12/2024
Celebrating #Crustmas and #Fishmas with an uncomfortable-looking sculpin that has an isopod on its face and 3 leeches. I don't think the isopod is normally a parasite, but its not doing the sculpin any favors. In a #Humboldt tide pool. 🐟🦀🤿
The forward two-thirds of a mostly red sculpin fish with a large head facing from right to left. It has lots of speckling of mostly white scattered over it's body, and many short white hair-like projections along its side, top and jaw. Its large pectoral fin is banded red and brown. It has a long isopod crustacean stuck to the side of its head and over its eye. The isopod has 7 or 8 body segments with short legs gripping the fish. The isopod is almost as long as the head, but is relatively narrow. The fish also has 3 long thin green leeches on it - one on the top of the head, one on the snout, and one on the pectoral fin. The rock in the background is encrusted with organisms that are almost the same color and pattern as the fish. The rock that the fish's head is resting on is gray with white blotches.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
A so-called stout shrimp in a #Humboldt tide pool at night for #Crustmas. They are commonly green, but highly variable in color and pattern, and are very common. 🦐🤿
A green shrimp with patches of blue-green in front of the eyes and where the body and tail meet. It is holding on to a small gray rock next to a large gray rock and is facing from right to left.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
A portrait of a monkeyface prickleback for #Fishmas. Poking its head out from under a rock in a #Humboldt tide pool to get a better look at the thing trying to get a look at it. 🐟🤿
The head of a fish with very large thick lips looking at the camera from under a rock. He has a look of being curious, but not exactly friendly. It has a high cockscomb kind if ridge that extends from its upper lip to over the top of its head, and its head is turned at enough of an angle that one of its eyes is not visible. The overall color of the fish is green - paler at the mouth area, and darker around the eye and cheek. It also has two darker green lines radiating down from its eye, and two black lines radiating upwards from the eye. The rock above its head is encrusted by some kind of filamentous red and tan organisms with a limpet in the middle.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 07/12/2024
Saw 3 southbound gray whales this afternoon from Wedding Rock at Sue-Meg State Park in #Humboldt. I wonder if the two travelling together - of obviously different sizes - may be a mother/calf pair from last season's brood...? The 3rd was about 15 minutes later and seemed intermediate in size.
A pair of gray whales spouting in high contrast on a rippled but relatively calm sea going right to left.A single gray whale on a rippled but relatively calm ocean swimming from right to left and spouting at it comes to the surface. Barnacles and whale lice are visible on its head.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Got distracted by the earthquake yesterday and missed my #Crustmas post. So here's a 2-fer. A decked out decorator crab and a hermit crab that looks like it could use a bigger shell. Both in a #Humboldt tide pool. 🦀🤿
A small crab on a frond of brown algae. It is covered in bits of pink and brown algae and possible other things. Its body and face are mostly obscured, but one of its eyes is visible. Its claws are folded in toward its face and three legs are visible at the lower right. The parts of the crab that are visible are pink, white and brick red and it has light speckles on the claws.A fuzzy-looking hermit crab crawling on a gray rock. It has long thin antennae with many brown bands separated by white spots. The overall color of the crab is brown, but it has white and small blue spots at the joints of its legs. Its eyes are on stalks and have a black and white zebra pattern. It's shell home is banded white and brown and appears a little too small for the crab.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 06/12/2024
Got distracted by the earthquake yesterday and missed my #Fishmas post. So here's a 2-fer. Juvenile kelp rockfish oriented up-side down under a boat on #Humboldt Bay, and juvenile black rockfish in a local tide pool.🐟
Two small fish under a boat and oriented up-side down as if the boat were the bottom of the bay. The fish have vertical bars on their sides that alternate brown and white, and they have blue eyes. The boat hull is a messy blue, gray and brown with lots of short algae hanging down. The water's background color is pale green.Three small fish in close-up stacked one atop the other in the water column. The two on top are facing upward at and angle from lower left to upper right. The bottom fish is closer to the camera and is facing slightly away at and angle from lower right to upper left. The fish are bronze in color with a black patch at the rear of the first dorsal fin. Each has mottling on the flanks, with the middle fish being the brightest and most mottled. The background is dark with spots of backscatter.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 05/12/2024
Well, that was one of the bigger earthquakes I've felt. It built for a long time. No damage at my house as far as I can tell. Still under a tsunami warning...
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
A molt of a granular claw crab found on a #Humboldt County beach for #Crustmas🦀
The molt of a small crab sitting on a ruler for scale. The crab has a relatively very large right claw. The body is narrow at the front with a larger oval shaped back end. The body and all the legs are covered in small bumps. The crab is mostly a pale brown color, except for the large claw, which is gray. The bumps are darker than the background body color.The same crab molt as the other picture, but the image is taken from the front to emphasize the size of the claw. The two claws are in focus, but the body is out of focus.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
A young-of-year coho salmon in Redwood National Park, #Humboldt County, CA for #Fishmas 🐟
A fish that is a couple of inches long swimming over gravel and cobble from right to left. The fish has 9 primary bars spread evenly and vertically down the length of its body, with small bars and spots on its back. Its dorsal and anal fins are edged in white, and the anal fin has an elongated tip which makes it look like a sickle. The overall color of the fish is pale green on to, pale yellow along the flanks, and white on the bottom. It also has a relatively large eye. The rocks in the background are mostly a brick red color.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Saw this so-called cloud-top flash at sunset in #Humboldt County, CA today. It's not the same as a green flash, but is similar. Tried the blurry super-cropped one to show the colors, but the flash may not have been visible to the naked eye. #AtmosphericOptics 🌈🌥️
The main subject is a bright greenish spot at the top of a dark cloud as the sun sets. Apart from the green spot, there are alternating bands of orange and black. In the lower right the arc of the lower part of the sun is visible.A super-cropped image of the green, blue, and yellow horizontally oval spot at the top of a dark cloud between two wavy sunset-orange bands.Sunset over the ocean with alternating bands of orange and black clouds, the sun is visible at the middle right and there is a small greenish light at the center.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 04/12/2024
Saw some killer whales from Wedding Rock in Sue-Meg State Park in #Humboldt County, CA this PM. They were milling around the Turtle Rocks - maybe 2 miles from where I was standing. There were lots of sea lions around, but I didn't notice any obvious hunting. Then a lone southbound humpback went by.
Four killer whales with spouts and dorsal fins showing at a distance beyond a large rock with sea lions on it and a wave breaking in the lower middle. The orcas are heading left, which is south. The rock is dark and the sea is blueish gray. This description probably makes the picture sound better than it is. It's not a very clear picture, but it shows that I was able to see.A large killer whale with spout, head and dorsal fin showing at a distance beyond a large rock with sea lions on it. The orca is heading right, which is north. The rock is dark and the sea is greenish gray. A tall backlit sort-of-mushrooming spout and the characteristic hump of a humpback whale. The whale is in the distance and the sea is blue-gray and choppy-looking but fades to a pale orange toward the top of the image.A fading but tall and distinct backlit spout with a whale's tail emerging in the classic humpback whale deep dive. The sea is mostly orangish due to the setting sun out of the frame.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
Mole crabs for #Crustmas. Some years mole crabs are super abundant on #Humboldt County, CA beaches. They go up and down the beach as the tide changes and ride the was - though sometimes piles of them are briefly stranded until the next wave.🌊
A few dozen mole crabs with their back ends buried in the sand. They are mottle white and brown. Their color matches the sand pretty well.Hundreds of mole crabs stranded on the beach waiting for the next wave. There are so many that the sand underneath is not visible. Each of them is an oval shape and this picture could be mistaken for a pile of pinto beans.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 03/12/2024
For #Fishmas, brook lampreys spawning in Redwood National Park in #Humboldt County, CA. 🤿🐟
Two long skinny snake-like fish on a gravel streambed/They are facing from top right to lower left. The one in the middle appears bigger and the fins near its back end are visible. The gravel is interspersed with coarse sand. The larger pieces of gravel are reddish brown. There are also some bluish and greening and gray rocks in the mix.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
A rock greenling at night in the rocky intertidal of #Humboldt County for #Fishmas. 🤿🐟
A very colorful fish with many pink blotches on its sides and large pectoral fins. The background color is green, and the face and lower cheek areas are red. It has a feathery flap over each eye. It is resting on the bottom on rocks surrounded by various brown algae.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 02/12/2024
Swarms of mysids AKA opossum shrimps in a #Humboldt County tide pool for #Crustmas. 🤿🦐
A dense aggregation of very small white shrimp that looks a little like a snowstorm. Some brown and red algae are visible behind the swarm.A few dozen shrimp in a swarm. Each is long and thin, but with a fat belly. Most are pale yellow or cream colored, but some a orange, brown or greenish. There are green and brown algae in the background.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
I'm happy to see #Fishmas on Bluesky! So here's a painted greenling in a #Humboldt tide pool to get me started. 🐟🤿
A fish resting on the bottom at a 45-degree angle on a rock with finely branching red algae growing on it. The fish appears to be looking at the camera and is facing toward the upper left corner of the picture. It has a very small mouth at the end of its pointed snout. It's tail and rear part of its body are curved away from the camera, so only 3 of the broad reddish brown vertical bars on its body are visible. The bars extend all the way up the dorsal fin. The base color of the body and top of the head is a greenish brown. Its large front/pectoral fins, which appear to be supporting the body on the rock, have many banded fin rays in red, yellow and brown. The tips of its dorsal fin rays are bright red. The underside of its head is mostly white with a few scattered brown blotches. Its eye has an oblong orange circle with a dark pupil. And four hairlike tufts on its head above the eye.
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Mike Kelly @mikesidkelly.bsky.social · 01/12/2024
YAY! It's #crustmas time! Here's a juvenile crab that was in a washed-up kelp holdfast on a #Humboldt beach. I took the holdfast to the lab and eventually we had a red rock crab that lived another 4 or 5 years. I assume it was this crab, but I don't know.
A close-up image of a small crab with clear-looking pinkish legs and large blue eyes. It's at the entrance to what looks like a cave, but is actually a hole in a tangle of kelp.
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