September, 1999 
SCAMIT Newsletter 
Vol. 18, No.5 
We decided to finally turn our attention to 
animals and the first ones that caught our 
“eyes” were two strange looking crabs brought 
by Carol Paquette. The first animal was 
Cardisoma crassum which is normally found in 
river banks in mangrove/estuarine type 
habitats in southern Mexico and Central 
America; however, this animal was collected 
on a heat treatment screen at the Scattergood 
Generating Station in El Segundo. The cooling 
water intake, where the animal was collected, 
is at a depth of 7 m. The animal appeared to 
have been alive just prior to being taken based 
on its color and condition of its carapace, 
appendages, etc.. This posed an interesting 
question since this was obviously not a marine 
crab. When identifed by Todd Zimmerman 
(NHMLAC), he was surprised to hear of the 
locality at which it was collected. Some 
suggestions were that it was a pet store 
purchase that was mistakenly “returned to the 
sea” or perhaps it was dropped from the beak 
of a hungry gull (said with less seriousness). 
Whatever the answer, it remains a mystery at 
this time. Despite the presence of the animal in 
a live state at time of capture, it does not, and 
could never range into this area. Appropriate 
habitat is completely lacking in Southern 
California although an ersatz habitat in a 
terrarium could be constructed. Much like the 
occasional Maine lobsters which escape from 
experimental aquaculture rearing in Southern 
California, and find their way into benthic or 
trawl samples, presence of the species in our 
local waters is completely accidental. 
The second crab was not such a mystery, more 
of a rarity. It was Euphylax dovii taken again 
on a heat treatment screen but this time at the 
San Onofre power plant. This animal is not 
usually seen in nearshore collections, being an 
oceanic species, but has been previously seen 
and reported from our area. 
After much “oohing and ahhing” over the big 
crabs we turned our rapt attention to the 
mollusks. Kelvin Barwick (CSDMWWD) had 
been working on a sample from Mission Bay 
(Station 2425) that was “full” of interesting and 
unusual (for those of us accustomed to off¬ 
shore work) mollusks. The following animals 
discussed are all from this station. 
First Kelvin brought forth a small gastropod 
which turned out to be Barleeia subtenuis. The 
animal was present in high densities (748 
individuals in the rep). This tiny rissoid is very 
common in Mission Bay, as is its congener B. 
californicus , grazing on the diatom film 
covering the sandy bay bottom, or on the 
diatom growth on attached algae and/or 
seagrass in the bay. 
There was a slightly different looking 
Turbonilla from this station as well, but it was 
decided to leave it at Turbonilla sp. due to the 
nomenclatural problems still clinging to this 
genus in local waters although Kelvin will 
compare it with the species described and 
illustrated in the pyramidellid monograph of 
Dali and Bartsch. Dr. Jim McLean says he 
thinks our pyramidellid problems have been 
resolved in his draft monograph on the 
gastropods of California, but it is not yet 
available. 
Next was a Lirularia parcipictum which the 
San Diego lab had not previously seen. The 
species ID was based on the presence of a basal 
carina, and the nature of the spiral 
ornamentation of the whorls. The examined 
specimens were also rather low spired for the 
species. 
A juvenile arcid clam was brought forth and 
not immediately recognized by those present. 
It was considered a probable Anadara, but was 
unfamiliar to all present. A digital image has 
been sent to Paul Scott and further ID is still 
pending at this time (see cover photo). 
Next, a juvenile Leporimetis obesa. Again, an 
animal not normally seen by the San Diego lab 
in their standard ocean monitoring program, 
this, combined with its small size, threw them 
for a loop. As with many other bivalves, the 
juvenile does not look much like the adult. 
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