The Bird Poop Frog (it’s really called that) is also called the Pied Warty Frog or the Hill Garden Bug-eyed Frog and its Latin name is Theloderma asperum. But just look at it. This frog sits on branches and blends in with any other bird droppings that might be there, making it virtually invisible to something searching for a tasty frog snack.
This adaptation is like a super power, which is why the Bird Poop Frog is one of the animal stars of our SuperWild exhibit.
The Lined Seahorse (Hippocampus erectus) is also known as the Northern Seahorse or Spotted Seahorse, and sometimes Caballito de Mar (in Spanish) or Hippocampe Rayé (in French). Whatever you call them, seahorses are a species of fish that look like a horse sitting upright. In fact, the translation from their Latin name is “standing horse”.
There are a number of reasons why it’s easier to see Lined Seahorses in an aquarium than in the wild. They like deep water; they are diurnal (most active at dawn and dusk); and, though they may be found from Nova Scotia to Argentina and throughout the Gulf of Mexico, they are really difficult to spot.
It’s difficult to spot them in the wild because they are masters at camouflage. They vary in color, the number and pattern of lines and dots on their bodies, and the size and shape of fleshy tabs on their heads and necks varies depending on their surroundings. Add it all up and you’d be lucky indeed to spot a Lined Seahorse — because most of this protective camouflage looks just like their habitat.
If you were looking for a super power, invisibility would be a good one as it keeps you hidden from predators. This is why Lined Seahorses are just some of the amazing animal superheroes we’ve lined up for our SuperWild exhibit, running March 28 through September 7, 2015. Come out and see if you can spot all of the sea horses at the Living Coast Discovery Center!
What’s your Super Power?
You’ve probably heard of the famous Swallows returning to the Mission San Juan Capistrano in Orange County but did you know that many of those swallows now return to the Living Coast instead? It all started with repairs at the mission in 1998, which uprooted the swallows who, for years, returned to the iconic mission. While swallows still return to Capistrano, many have found other places to nest — and return to them, instead of the mission, annually.
Many organizations have gained swallows due to the mission’s loss, including the Japanese Garden in Van Nuys and a posh country club in Chino Hills. Though Mission San Juan Capistrano continues to lure swallows back, not everything has worked.
The American Cliff Swallow is a member of the passerine bird family Hirundinidae — the swallows and martins. It breeds in North America and is migratory, wintering in western South America from Venezuela southwards to northeast Argentina. You can read the lore about these particular San Juan Capistrano Swallows here: Legend of the Swallows. You can also read about Cliff Swallows in AllAboutBirds.org or come see our visitors at the Living Coast. You might even start a tradition of returning every spring to see swallows nesting and raising their young.
Here’s a short video of swallows nesting at the Living Coast. Enjoy!
This is one in a series of brief posts designed to encourage you to care as much as we do about coastal animals, plants and habitats — and the first about an animal in our SuperWild exhibit!
Did you know you can sometimes see what a Moon Jelly had for dinner? These near-invisible Moon Jellies (or Aurelia labiata) feed on small plankton organisms such as mollusks, crustaceans, larvae, copepods, etc. and, because they are translucent, crustaceans show up as lavender or pink, and brine shrimp as orange, in their bellies.
Our SuperWild exhibit showcases “Super Powers” that animals have developed to survive in various environments. SuperWild opens on March 28 and runs through May 7, 2015. Can you guess what a Moon Jellies’ Super Power is? We think the answer is quite transparent. (Invisibility!)
This special family-friendly exhibit celebrates the amazing world of animal super-heroes, combined with original local artwork. SuperWild, which runs March 28 through September 7, is included with regular admission to the Living Coast.
Get up and close and personal with creatures that walk on walls, possess super strength, are invisible to the naked eye, and can even regenerate limbs. There will also be snakes that fish with lightning fast speed, eagle-eyed birds of prey, super-stealth-flying owls, Hulk-sized insects and reptiles that stretch to the extreme—all natural adaptations that help them survive in the wild.
Some of these animals include the Mexican axolotl, pygmy leaf chameleon, bird poop frog, flying draco lizard, fishing ribbon snake, green basilisk, giant millipede, horseshoe crab, pink-toed tarantula,toco toucan and more. In addition, a new roadrunner, affectionately named “Flash” for his super-speed, will be introduced as part of the seasonal exhibit and remain afterwards to join the center’s permanent animal collection.
In keeping with the Living Coast’s tradition of partnering with local artists for its seasonal exhibits, SuperWild will also include an exciting art component. Artists Debb Solan and Marjorie Pezzoli (aka: the Jellygirls) of FusionGlass Co. and Pezzoli Art have created an extensive “smack” of sea jellies out of recycled materials that will be displayed in the Living Coast’s main galleria to bring awareness to the global issue of plastic ocean pollution. These striking, large-scale jellies have previously been showcased at the NOAA Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Museum of Monterey, and the Oceanside Museum of Art.
Did you know? The Purple Sea Urchin has protective large spines, pincers (called pedicellariae), tube feet and five teeth, arranged in a circle at the bottom of its body, that it uses to scrape algae from rock surfaces?
Here’s what Aristotle had to say about this arrangement of teeth: “In reality the mouth-apparatus of the urchin is continuous from one end to the other, but to outward appearance it is not so, but looks like a horn lantern with the panes of horn left out.” Oh, yeah, in addition to philosophy, Aristotle wrote about Urchins in The History of Animals. In later years this lantern-like mouth came to be known as “Aristotle’s Lantern”. Possibly because of the drawing he included, which you can see here.
The urchin uses its Horn Lantern (if you’re Aristotle) or Aristotle’s Lantern (if you’re every other biologist in the world) to scrape away algae growing on rocks and create a depression that becomes the sea urchin’s hideaway. Sometimes a sea urchin grows larger than its dugout depression and gets stuck — for life. Once trapped, the urchin can only feed on particles that drift by with the current.
Whichever lantern you use to refer to an Urchin’s mouth, those teeth are pretty formidable. In areas without a lot of predators (like sea stars and sea otters), purple urchins are known for dramatically altering the kelp forest ecosystem and leaving behind a vast bare area, known as an urchin barren.
Here are five things you need to know about Moray Eels — and one extra Living Coast tidbit.
Little-Known (OK, Widely Known) Living Coast Fact:Our Eel has a column in our newsletter in which he describes the Featured Animal and then says something snarky about it. Want to check him out? We send just 2 newsletters a month! Click here for a quick sign-up.
Dwane Brown came to the Living Coast recently where we discussed which traits humans share with fish, and how wetlands and habitat losses affect local bird communities. Check out the story about Our Wild San Diego below!
Boy Scouts from Troop 801 re-route fence for endangered agave
We care about plants at the Living Coast Discovery Center as much as the animals in our care. On Dec. 27th, eight Eagle Scouts from Troop 801 came to the Living Coast to assist our Horticulturalist Mark Valen with a prickly problem. Our Shaw’s Agave, an endangered plant, was growing onto the fence that separates it from the general public.
Jacob Blauser and his friends rerouted the fence, removed a large Salt Bush, and replaced it with plants that will provide good habitat for birds and provide a better view from our outdoor classroom. Eagle Scouts plan and execute community projects in keeping with their code, of which conservation is a leading principal.
Jacob, who can be seen third from the right in the “After” photo, planned to be here for two days. With a lot of help from his friends, the task was completed in one. Thanks Jacob, and friends — and Troop 801 in Coronado — for being South Bay Proud!
For more information on Shaw’s Agave and Jacob’s Troop, visit these links: Shaw’s Agave and Troop 801. More photos follow…
Did you know? Other names for Shaw’s Agave include Coastal Agave and Agave shawii. They can be found along the Pacific coast of Baja California, extending north into the coastal chaparral of southernmost California.
The Living Coast Discovery Center — along with some intrepid volunteers — participated in the Audubon Society’s annual Christmas Bird Count on December 20, 2014.
Some of the most notable sightings included a Tundra Swan, an adult Reddish Egret and adult Little Blue Heron, which is the first recorded on the refuge. Unfortunately, some species continue to decline, including Costa’s Hummingbird which used to breed around the Living Coast, but now appears to have vanished, and Loggerhead Shrike was missed again after being recorded for several straight years, a sign of its serious decline throughout the county.
Here at LCDC, three birders headed out at 11am and finished at 2pm. Living Coast volunteers Jeanne Raimond, Judy McIntosh and Lura Cox took the refuge road and walked for a mile and a half on the trails surrounding the exterior of the center. Here’s what they saw.
