february update

It has been four months since I started writing this beachcombing guide. During this summer period I have spent as much time as I can ferreting around on beaches and in tide pools close to home. That's on the Mornington Peninsula in Australia's south-east.

It is interesting to note that some events on our shores are quite long lasting. Take the sausage jellies that are actually egg masses produced by snails living in the sand.

Sausage jellies were quite common on beaches in November. Although I have not seen sausage jellies continuously for the last four months, February seems to be a time when they are again common.

the egg sac that I was having trouble identifying but now believed to be produced by a bubble shell
(click thumbnail for full image)

sausage jellies contain the eggs of snails that live in the sand
(click thumbnail for full image)

Speaking of egg-masses, I reported on egg sacks of a worm? in January 2001. At that time I thought that these may be the egg masses of a polychaete worm. However, Mark Rodrigue (Marine Discovery Centre) has again helped me out and I now believe these balloon-like egg masses were produced by bubble shells, possibly Philine angasi. I still have more work to do to confirm this. I will report again in the March update.

The final update is that Jane and I recently found a stack more by-the-wind-sailors washed ashore. We first found these charming little drifters washed ashore late in November and early December last year.

Go to by-the-wind-sailors in December 2001 for details.