There’s always something going on in the Kelp Forest Touch Pool. Right now you can see the giant keyhole limpet (Megathura crenulata). This is no ordinary snail. The body of a keyhole limpet can grow to be almost 10 inches long (our largest is about four inches). It’s named for the large “keyhole” in the middle of the shell, for excreting waste (visible in the middle of the black area in photo). This intertidal animal is soft to the touch and adheres to surfaces with its large foot. Senior Aquarist Barbara Utter found these limpets, along with other species, while diving in local reefs. The exhibit also contains a juvenile horn shark , juvenile wolf eel, rockfish, scorpionfish, kelp bass, gumboot chitons and a warty sea cucumber.
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July 26, 2011
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Barbara did a great job. It's really wonderful.
Posted by: P. Mana | November 17, 2011 at 08:21 AM
Hello, my special thanks to Senior Aquarist Barbara Utter for discovering such a beautiful creatures.
Posted by: A.W. Seo | November 01, 2011 at 11:22 AM
Those 3 lined brown fish, are those the kelp Bass?
Posted by: Jollibee | August 01, 2011 at 08:54 PM
I hope it will not consume the Ulva that's in the photo :). Great post. Now I know one more sea organism: Giant Keyhole Limpet. Keep on posting!
Posted by: graz | August 01, 2011 at 08:50 PM
I can even tell it looks like a worm...?
Posted by: marisela | July 26, 2011 at 11:28 AM
this is a huge snail.
Posted by: Mary Rivera | July 26, 2011 at 09:09 AM