The oceanographer Anya Stajner recently benefited from a promenade at sunset along the Jolla Shores beach when a touch of purple vibrant color drew her attention into the sand.
She became on her hands and her knees and was surprised to realize that she had come across a kind of rare sea snail, Janthina Janthina.
These creatures, more commonly known as purple snailsDistinguished themselves by their striking purple shell and the delicate bubble raft which they secrete to stay afloat in the open ocean. They are not known for their presence on the beaches of southern California.
“When I saw it on the beach, I instantly knew what it was, but I was in total shock,” Stajner, a fifth year doctoral student at the Scripps Institute of Oceanography, told UC San Diego. “I would never expect to see a washing in San Diego. The chances are so thin. “
Violet snails are known for their vibrant shade and their ability to float on the surface of the ocean thanks to the bubble rafts they create.
(Anya Stajner.)
J. Janina are a kind of pelagic snail, which means that they spend their lives on the surface of the ocean as opposed to tidal pools or along the shore of the ocean. Their brilliant purple color would be a form of UV protection to protect them from hard rays of the sun.
The discovery of Stajner marks the first time that scripps researchers spotted these purple snails on local beaches in a decade, she said.
J. Janthina are generally found in tropical seas toasted with tropical seas. Their sparse observations along the southern coast of California often coincide with warmer water -off water that flows towards shore.
“The day I found my specimens, the water was particularly hot,” she said. “I remember when he failed on my feet, I said to myself:” Whoa, it’s hot “.
Janthina secures a bubble raft which allows them to stay afloat on the surface of the ocean.
(Anya Štajner.)
Stajner cannot say with certainty if its discovery is linked to climate change, but noted that this is a question that researchers will want to examine in the future.
“I think that is something we will be looking for,” she said. “If these hot waters continue, we want to see if we have more of these purple snails on the ground.”
If lovers of beach J. Janthina In southern California, Stajner urges them to take photos and send them to scripps. However, she reminded people that certain beaches, such as the Jolla Shores, are designated “no taking zones”, where the public is not allowed to remove living creatures.
In total, she collected 10 snails and brought them to the pelagic collection of university’s invertebrates to examine.
Under the microscope, she was able to see the thousands of eggs collected in red bags inside one of the shells. She also looked closely at the delicate purple verticles outside the exterior of snail shells.
Under the microscope, the egg bags are visible inside one of the sea snails found in the sand of the banks of the Jolla.
(Anya Štajner)
J. Janina Generally, it will have a darker purple shade on the top of their shell to make them blend with a viewed view, said Stajner. Their underwear is often a lighter lavender to make them more difficult for sea predators to be spotted from below while they shine with the sun on the surface of the ocean.
These sea snail are also voracious predators themselves and feast on floating hydrozoans such as Velella Velella And Portuguese war. “They are small, but they are powerful,” she said.
Stajner said that she was delighted by the attention of the public that her discovery received and hopes that she inspires more people to explore the diverse aquatic life presents along the southern coasts of California.
