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LYME REGIS:
EAST BEACH & BROAD LEDGE
by Robert Jones (Trowbridge)
On Sunday 18 February 1996, I travelled down with my family to Lyme
Regis in west Dorset,and visited the beach to the east of the seaside town.
It was cold, at 6ºC, and this meant that sea temperature recorded
at 10ºC was warmer than the air.
Despite the conditions, we found plenty of life under the rocks,
with a selection of small rock pool fish including Shannies (Blennies)
Lipophrys
pholis, Rock Gobies Gobius paganellus,
5-Bearded
Rockling Ciliata mustela, and Worm Pipefish Nerophis lumbriciformis.
Invertebrates
Shore Crabs were in 'berry' with some eggs
dark green and others orange. Edible Crabs, Cancer
pagurus, were found with the smallest ones a dirty white to 15 mm,
and the larger red ones. Both species of porcelain crab were recorded.
Hairy
Crabs Pilumnus hirtellus, were found under rocks with Velvet
Swimming Crabs Necora puber and under one stone over 100 small Hermit
Crabs Pagurus bernhardus. The Squat Lobsters Galathea squamifera
carried eggs that were almost red.
Squat Lobster Galathea squamifera
A solitary Sea Gherkin Pawsonia saxicola (=Cucumaria),
a species of sea-cucumber, was discovered well wedged in a hole. The sea
slug (a pleurobranch) Berthella plumula was quite common. If you
had a very keen eye you might be able to spot the small true sea slug (nudibranch)
Flabellina
pedata (=Coryphella), which is a purple-pink in colour. We found
them up to 15 mm long as well some even smaller species, up to 14
mm, which I think were Facelina auriculata (=F. coronata).
Notes:
Peter Glanvill discovered some tiny nudibranchs in a purple livery in the Fleet narrows near Ferrybridge early this year. They were common in a pinkish colour with purplish gills and have been identified as Flabellina pedata.
On the BMLSS rockpooling expedition to Monmouth Beach, west of Lyme
Regis, in May 1993 (04.02.15) the Long-clawed Porcelain Crab, Pisidia
longirostris, was noted by its absence. (See also 06.02.45).
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