Elusive, aggressive, and solitary, the stomatopod Hemisquilla ensigera californiensis is usually spotted while peaking its head out of a sandy burrow. Yesterday, I found this one in what appears to be in a defensive position. My guess is that either we clipped it with our anchor chain or it had been in a tussle with another mantis shrimp. You can easily find them in the sandy plains off the old Marineland site (now Terranea Resort), and the openings of their burrows are usually lined with shells.

Image taken from an article by Marc Srour:

After all this excitement, we motored to Honeymoon Cove to enjoy flat calm seas for a change. Phil found another little reef for us to explore, and I fooled around with camera settings.

In Honeymoon cove, many of the Norris topsnails are bottom-heavy with fouling organisms: barnacles, worms, tunicates, encrusting algae.

This is the first time either of us have seen a white-spotted rose anemone outside the Northern Channel Islands. Urticina lofotensis

Felimare porterae and Flabellina trilineata

Cuthona divae on hydroids

Unlike the other reef we dive at this spot, kelp rockfish predominate.

• Review article on the mantis shrimp

• True Facts about the Mantis Shrimp Max Bottomtime 16:10:11 10/07/13 (0)
• Re: Have a ball, a mantis shrimp ball. maggieD 15:31:07 10/07/13 (0)
• Simplified Mantis Info Patrick 14:26:18 10/07/13 (0)