The sand was covered with these, 4-5 clusters in a hand space. Some sort of egg mass?
At 2-4m depth.
Predation on a starfish. Charonia are really fast, the starfish escaped with the loss of an arm
Ruru calling from a mamaku. Short video in the video link field.
spring tide today so a good time to go looking;)
Initially thought this was a plant of some kind, until it moved. Out on the open coast, very exposed, but under a ledge mid intertidal.
The one in the cat's eye snail shell banged itself against the other one until the second crab left it's shell. Then first crab tried the other shell out for size before going back to it's original shell
smallest one of these I've seen
Green-lipped mussel spat on the branches of washed up Landsburgia quercifolia and Melanthalia abscissa, lying in bales of seaweed* exposed along sandy beach at low tide mark.
*Dominated by Carpophyllum maschalocarpum, Landsburgia quercifolia, Vidalia colensoi and Ecklonia radiata.
Killing a duckling. Took off and carried it away as I approached
It's business time!
~32 cm long parasitic worm that emerged from a Mecodema sculptuartum. The beetle was found wandering around during the day and then overnight the worm emerged from it. The beetle was still alive and active despite the damage to it's abdomen (visible in the 2nd and 3rd photos).
F. pureora for North island locality, U-shaped orange-cream mark on carapace, orange median dorsal stripe, denticulation of prosoma restricted to a cluster at the anterior of ocularium (eyes).
Extreme size and shape variation found within this species (and many other neopilionids) in adult males (confirmed by inspecting genital operculum). Tooth pattern of chelicera segment III remains consistent.