Scuba dive off Point Loma, July 27, 2014 => click on the thumbnail image to see the original larger image <=
Kelp rockfish Sebastes atrovirens	Triopha catalinae nudibranch	Bat star Asterina miniata I love the variegated colors on these stars
mating Doriopsilla albopunctata nudibranchs with snubnose sculpin Orthonopias triacis	Strawberry anemones Corynactis californica very common; I love their vivid colors	Treefish Sebastes serriceps over strawberry anemones
This kelp rockfish Sebastes atrovirens was circling in front of me	flatworm Eurylepta californica I've never seen this one before... it's a platyhelminth or flatworm, having no respiratory or circulatory system. This worm is a carnivore, out hunting small animals to eat. Given its bold appearance, it must taste bad, with its coloration being a warning to prospective predators.	Blackeye goby Rhinogobiops nicholsii
Chestnut cowrie Cypraea spadicea deep in a crack, next to a rock scallop	Painted greenling Oxylebius pictus over strawberry anemones	Rock scallop Crassadoma giganteus deep in a crack You can see its numerous blue eyes along its sensory tentacles & inside is its gill which filters phytoplankton food out of seawater.
Closeup of mantle and siphon of giant keyhole limpet Megathura crenulata Hemocyanin obtained from these snails is "used as a hapten carrier protein to enhance antigen-specific T cell priming and is known to stimulate a CD4+ T-cell response. Hemocyanins stimulate Th1 reactions without known side effects, which make them ideal for long-term continuous treatment of cancer." from Sigma Aldrich website	Cadlina luteomarginata nudibranch	holdfast of giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera growing over lost rope, & sheltering brittle sea stars (that's their spiny arms)
Proliferating anemone Epiactis prolifera on blade of bull kelp Nereocystis luetkeana	juvenile seastar on blade of bull kelp Nereocystis luetkeana	Kelp bass Paralabrax clathratus
Kelp bass Paralabrax clathratus staring down the camera