A Butterfish glides sinuously across the Loch Carron seabed
It is, incidentally, quite common to see shore crabs in unusually deep water here. I suspect they may fall from the steep rock wall to the current-swept seabed below and, finding conditions and food to their liking, don’ t bother to climb back up!
Pink shrimp( Pandalus montagui, also known as the northern prawn) – It seemed as if this one was being hungrily inspected by the butterfish, perhaps to see if it had recently moulted and was therefore soft, and vulnerable to attack despite its relative size? If a prawn isn’ t being harassed by a potential foe, I like to watch how it uses its impressive array of tools for picking up and processing small pieces of food. This species lives up to both its common names, having distinctive pink stripes and being seen more often around northern UK coasts. The names also show how‘ shrimp’ and‘ prawn’ are interchangeable from a biological perspective!
Dead man’ s fingers( Alcyonium digitatum) – The soft coral that forms the photo’ s backdrop has all its feeding tentacles withdrawn so is rather unattractive. The photo was taken in September, which is about the time that the polyps become quiescent, before starting to actively feed again in the spring. It could, however, be a much more temporary shut-down, as this colony is still clean and lacks the covering patches of algae typical of ones that are truly‘ winterised’. Thanks to the abundant food supply, Loch Carron is an excellent place to spot Britain’ s largest nudibranch, Tritonia hombergii, which specialises in preying on dead man’ s fingers.
Barnacles and keelworms – On the rocks behind the main subjects, there are the white, chalky creations of‘ house-building’ barnacles and tube-building worms. Many look like empty skeletons but they still reflect the variety and profusion of life here. �
Paul’ s photos and video clips capturing UK marine life stories are on Instagram @ paulnaylormarinephoto
The unusual sight of a Shore Crab in relatively deep water( 15 to 20m)
Pink Shrimp among keelworm tubes on a rock face
Dead Man’ s Fingers in May, with the polyps actively feeding to give that attractive fuzzy appearance
The tranquil shallows of a Scottish sea loch make photographs of barnacles feeding relatively easy to capture
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