Turtles and Ghosts
Beez Neez now Chy Whella
Big Bear and Pepe Millard
Fri 26 Apr 2013 22:59
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Bear and the Turtles and Me
and My Ghosts
Bear went with the rest for a snorkel
and he was just about to give up as visibility was not so great and he was seeing nothing new, just the
usual suspects.
Just then he saw a
rather pretty lady and her posse.
She came out for a
better picture........
.............and
posed nicely.
Then Daniel came
by with a new friend.
After posing he needed a rest.
A youngster came by
and an eagle ray completed Bears fun
time.
Whilst the others were snorkeling I indulged in
my favourite hobby - rock pool hunting. Anemones, Sally
light-foots and a baby sea
cucumber.
Sally kept me interested for a while.
My real
target was hiding, but there had to be many judging by the thousands of little balls of sand all over the
beach.
I had to wait fifteen
minutes, sitting very still before the first
appeared, then another, then more.
A rather pretty painted
ghost crab.
Ghost crabs dominate sandy shores in tropical
and subtropical areas, they breathe through gills, which they periodically wet with seawater. They must return to the ocean to release their eggs, which develop into marine larvae. Their name conjures up all sorts of images but merely means they
are primarily nocturnal and most are pale coloured. One claw is slightly bigger
than the other.
I just love to watch
them shovel in
sand..........................
.....................which drops out of their
gills in their trademark little
balls.
As soon as the snorkelers returned my chaps ran back home.
Adult ghost crabs dig deep burrows, comprising a long shaft with a chamber at the end,
occasionally with a second entrance shaft. They remain in the burrow during the
hottest part of the day, and throughout the coldest part of the winter. They
emerge mostly at night, to feed on just about anything.
The name "ghost crab" comes from their nocturnal lifestyle. Their scientific name Ocypode is derived from the Greek roots ocy-fast and pode foot, in reference to the animal's speed and can they run. Their gait alters as their speed increases. It can trot along indefinitely using all four pairs of walking legs, occasionally alternating which side leads. At higher speeds, the fourth pair of legs is raised off the ground, and at the highest speeds, the crab runs, using only the first and second pairs of walking legs. Just before we rejoined Chino for our lift back to Vision, Daniel somehow managed to pick up a chap from the shoreline for me to get a closer look – what a handsome chap.
ALL IN ALL A HAPPY TIME |