That’s right, it’s time for: Guess Those Remains!
[these remains right here]
The first to guess correctly will…have guessed correctly!
(And from there it’s only a short step to becoming an internet phenom just like Justin Bieber!)
I'll give you one hint: it's something that lives in or near the ocean.
Ready? Go!
{A note: I do write all text and take all pictures. Please do not reproduce either without my permission.}
17 comments:
They look like pieces of oyster shells?
A very well-informed guess, especially given their iridescence--which I had not been expecting--but no, they are not oyster shells.
I'm thinking some kind of crab, since I don't see the hinge of a bi-valve?
Warm, very warm...!
Fantastic photograph, an interesting idea. I am greeting
Mussells?
@ZielonMila: thank you!
@Patti: Nope--AV was right, they are not bivalve shells. (But, again, reasonable guess, given the shine.)
Barnacles?
They *are* arthropod remains, but we're talking decapods, actually. Any guesses?
What I wouldn't give to flip one of those things over, and to have a scale bar.... :-)
Ah, but then where's the challenge? :)
Although I *will* say that these remains are each approx. 2cm long, if that helps.
not first, I'm sure, but sand crab?
as in http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emerita_(genus)
AND WE HAVE A WINNER!! Woo-hoo!
Yes, indeed, they are the carapace bits of _Emerita talpoida_, the Atlantic sand crab or mole crab (I myself prefer "mole crab" because they're so cute and burrow-y).
This is all that was left of these guys after vast flocks of sanderlings descended upon the shores of Assateague island and cobbled the hapless little crustaceans up. I had never seen their thorax bits picked clean like this and so had had no idea that they were so luminous and pearlescent inside.
Well done! And thanks to all who played!
Our pleasure. A display of ignorance is never a waste. HA!
Nice! :-) I like this game...
The happy jump I just made across the living room floor to tell my husband (who's in the shower) is dedicated to those ADORABLE little creatures. Having gone to UC San Diego, my stress-reducing strolls along La Jolla Shores revealed these little guys, well, their "jackets," having been picked clean on THIS coast by similarly ravenous shorebirds. And, yes, mole crab is a good moniker. =) Thanks for the game!!
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