Eyes Under Puget Sound

Eyes Under Puget Sound is the Marine Sediment Monitoring Team’s monthly blog pertaining to Puget Sound sediments, with topics ranging from sediment conditions and benthic critters, to field work and special projects.
Eyes Under Puget Sound is the Marine Sediment Monitoring Team’s monthly blog pertaining to Puget Sound sediments, with topics ranging from sediment conditions and benthic critters, to field work and special projects.

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What the shell? The tusk shells are in a class all their own
Tusk shells belong to the Class Scaphopoda, meaning boat foot. In contrast to a real elephant's ivory tusk, a scaphopod's conical shell is open on both ends.
Things that go bump in the night: the sea spiders look a fright
Sea spiders have segmented bodies, hard exoskeletons, and long, thin legs like land spiders, but they are not closely related.
Get ready to "fall" for the orange sea pen
The orange sea pen resembles a colorful autumn tree waving in the breeze of moving water currents.
A moment in the sun for the common sun star
With its bright sun-like appearance, the common sun star is one of the more beautiful creatures in Puget Sound.
I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream cone worms
Ice cream cone worms are easily recognized by their distinct cone-shaped tubes that can be up to two inches long.
Flora or fauna? The tube-dwelling anemone lights up the Sound with its "blooms"
Meet the tube-dwelling anemone, a delicate blossom at the bottom of Puget Sound.
We're over the moon for the moon snail
With its easily recognizable shell (the largest found on Puget Sound beaches), we are certainly over the moon for this month's critter: the Moon Snail.
The voucher sheet project
A voucher sheet is a document that contains descriptions and photos of a species. We create these to identify the critters we monitor and to help other scientists doing similar work.
Be still, my heart (urchin)!
Unlike most sea urchins, which are round, heart urchins appear heart-shaped, elongate with a small depression at one end for the mouth.
Ring in the New Year with the black-eyed hermit crab
The black-eyed hermit is never far from home, because it carries it along. Hermit crabs find protection from predators inside empty snail shells.