Kelp
Project Species Identification
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Click here to go back to Baykeeper Kelp Page
Species Sampled in Band Transects | Invasive Species
Click here for a printable version
| Species Sampled in Quadrats |
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| Giant
Kelp Adult Macrocystis pyrifera brown alga attached by holdfast size: up to 30 m (100 ft) Click Here for More Information |
Giant
Kelp Sub-Adult Macrocystis pyrifera visible split at base of blade size: young plants up to 1 meter (3 ft) Click Here for More Information |
Juvenile
Kelp various species of brown algae no visible split in blade size: up to ~10 cm (4 in) Click Here for More Information |
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| Bladder
Chain Algae Cystoseira sp. “chains” of pneumatocysts in upper part, flattened blades in lower part size: up to 8 m (26 ft) Click Here for More Information |
California
Sea Palm |
Turkish
Towel Girgartina exasperata Gigartina corymbifera broad dark purplish-red blades covered with bumps size: blades up to 1 m (3 ft) Click Here for More Information |
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| Purple
Sea Urchin Strongylocentrotus purpuratus purple spines and test (shell) juveniles may look greenish size: test size up to 7 cm (3 in) Click Here for More Information |
Red
Sea Urchin |
White
Sea Urchin Lytechinus anamesus white spines, white with some green/gray on test (shell) size: test size up to 4 cm (1.5 in) Click Here for More Information |
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Black
Crowned Sea Urchin Centrostephanus coronatus black ridged spines are three times as long as the test (shell) size: test size up to 6 cm (2.5 in), spines up to 18 cm (7.5 in) Click Here for More Information |
Abalone Haliotis sp. holes on edge of shell, very cryptic, can be covered with algae size: up to 30 cm (12 in) Click Here for More Information |
Bat
Star Asterina miniata Webbed 5-arm shape, solid or mottled colors (red, orange, yellow, brown, green, purple) size: up to 20 cm (8 in) Click Here for More Information |
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Giant
Spined Star |
Blue-banded
Goby Lythrypnus dalli Small fish with orange and blue stripes size: up to 7 cm (2.5 in) Click Here for More Information |
Brown
Gorgonian Muricea fruticosa look closely for white polyps on “sea fan” branches size: up to 1 m (3 ft) Click Here for More Information |
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Brown
Gorgonian (close-up) Muricea fruticosa look closely for white polyps on “sea fan” branches size: up to 1 m (3 ft) Click Here for More Information |
Golden
Gorgonian Muricea californica look closely for yellow polyps on “sea fan” branches size: up to 1 m (3 ft) Click Here for More Information |
Golden
Gorgonian (close-up) Muricea californica look closely for yellow polyps on “sea fan” branches size: up to 1 m (3 ft) Click Here for More Information |
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Kellet’s
Whelk |
Warty
Sea Cucumber Parastichopus parvimensis soft cylindrical orange-brown body with pointy projections size: up to 25 cm (10 in) Click Here for More Information |
Wavy
Top Snail Lithopoma undosum spiral shell often covered with algae, very cryptic size: up to 13 cm (5 in) Click Here for More Information |
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Wavy
Top Snail Lithopoma undosum spiral shell often covered with algae, very cryptic size: up to 13 cm (5 in) Click Here for More Information |
The Kelp Project also looks for and records all other notable species encountered during sampling.
Click here to go back to Baykeeper Kelp Page
Species Sampled in Band Transects | Invasive Species
Click here for a printable version
Special thanks to volunteer diver Ian Craig for donating his pictures!