Common brown #shrimp (Crangon crangon) of potted shrimp fame. Masterclass in camouflage: only saw this dashing fellow when light was right. Quick, too: darted away (almost) every time camera came near. Not like #rockpool shrimp below, which seek out your hand like buffet table! Morar Bay, Scotland

#Lichens aren't only organisms that grow as crusts. I've mentioned encrusting #algae (below) and this bright specimen is encrusting #sponge. How unusual to find animal taking form of crust on rock! Perhaps common Hymeniacidon perlevis, but I really couldn't say. In tidal zone on Morar Bay, Scotland.

Female Dicranopalpus ramosus sens lat #harvestman at Bracora, on Loch Morar, Scotland. Seems from @britishspiders.bsky.social website potentially to be first record for VC97 West Inverness-shire! Even if true, it's hardly surprising find: they're common but under-recorded (and under-appreciated).

Last #lichen (for now) that I see in Scotland but not East Anglia: Xanthoparmelia conspersa. This one at Morar Bay. Isidiate, not sorediate like similar X mougeotii. Interestingly, latter is regularly recorded in East Anglia, but former rarely. It seems X mougeotii tolerates drier conditions better.

Beautiful but slightly sinister form of compass #jellyfish (Chrysaora hyoscella) lurking in shallow water at Portnaluchaig, near Arisaig, Morar, Scotland. Allegedly, fear of their sting is worse than actual experience: said to be no worse than nettle. I don't know myself: but if you do, reply below!

1/2 Yet another #lichen I find in Scotland but not home in East Anglia: Pectenia (Degelia) cyanoloma. Its sister species P atlantica and P plumbea look similar, but former has isidia and not apothecia, and latter lacks scalloped depressions on its lobes. Britain has 'international responsibility'…

This jaunty little fellow sat rather obligingly for a #rockpool portrait this past summer. Who'd have guessed these tiny common hermit #crabs (Pagurus bernhardus) are genetically closer to huge king crabs than to typical shore crabs like in post below? At Portnaluchaig near Arisaig, Morar, Scotland.

Grateful to @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social Carlton Marshes for inviting me back to deliver a second public #lichen event earlier this month. And to the participants too, for their lovely feedback! Looking forward to returning this spring for a full-day lichen workshop. aspenecology.com/discovering-...

This striking and rather handsome #seaweed is Polyides rotunda, a type of forkweed. It's a red #alga, so taxonomically a plant. Easily the loveliest and most elegant of the seaweeds I saw on holidays in Scotland this past summer. This one in a #rockpool on the beach at Achaidh Mhoir, near Morar.

Just posted: #lichen factsheet and galleries for Dermatocarpon miniatum. Most widespread of its genus in Britain. Likes damp conditions, or at least intermittently flushed rock (e.g. seepages, rain tracks). More common in wetter west: this one from Argyll, Scotland. aspenecology.com/dermatocarpo...

Grey dagger (Acronicta psi) and dark dagger (A tridens) #moths can't be reliably separated without dissection. But their caterpillars can, and this colourful fellow with the shark-fin is grey dagger. Bracora on Loch Morar, Scotland. First record for hectad, but that's due to under-recording there.

1/2 Like other living things, #lichens can become ill. This normally bright yellow-green Rhizocarpon geographicum appears to be suffering badly from disease. Could be infected with lichenicolous #fungus: symptoms look similar to reaction of R geographicum to Endococcus macrosporus infection. But no…

More #seaweeds observed on holiday in Scotland this past summer. This luxurious sward is pepper dulse (Osmundea pinnatifida). Red #alga (so plant), but variable in colour: these fronds are bleaching yellow and white in sun. Apparently it has peppery, truffly flavour! Achaidh Mhoir beach near Morar.

Continuing with #lichens I see in Scotland, but not home in East Anglia: this is Sphaerophorus globosus. One of two Sphaerophorus species in Britain. Like coral on land! Separated from S fragilis by less neatly 'cushioned' appearance, due to branches of variable breadth. At Bracorina on Loch Morar.

Sights of last summer: silk-button #gall (Neuroterus numismalis) and spangle gall (Neuroterus quercusbaccorum) on leaves of oak felled by Storm Floris. Extraordinary plant 'tumors' caused by two different species of tiny cynipid #wasps whose larvae develop within. Bracorina on Loch Morar, Scotland.

1/2 Another #lichen I see in Scotland but not East Anglia: Umbilicaria torrefacta. This one above Loch Morar. Type of 'rock tripe' considered edible as starvation food. (Though some Indigenous peoples of North America would eat it regularly, and in Japan, U esculenta or 'iwatake' is eaten in salads…

Another seashore #worm we all see but don't really 'see': this is Spirorbis. Multiple species in Britain. Tiny creatures that build shell-like tubes mainly on #seaweed fronds. Pleased to have captured them filter-feeding underwater on waving frond, even if bit blurry! Portnaluchaig, near Arisaig.

Stereocaulon vesuvianum var nodulosum: another #lichen I see in Scotland but not East Anglia. (But small, stubby variant called 'var symphycheilodes' is found in SE England.) Hard to mistake: like solidified frothy explosion! 'Windowed' phyllocladia (darker centre, paler margin) are characteristic.

1/2 Took #moth trap to Scotland on holiday this past summer. Many records were NM79 hectad firsts, but that's due to under-recording. Nicest of first night were this early-for-season juniper carpet (Thera juniperata subsp scotica - maybe only second VC97 record!), elegant chevron (Eulithis testata)…

More #lichens I see in Scotland, but not East Anglia: Xanthoria aureola. Like common cousin X parietina, but with more ribbony lobes, much less abundant apothecia, and often deeper orange colour. Unlike X parietina, found almost exclusively on rocky coasts. This one at Port nam Murrach near Arisaig.

Hugely enjoyable and informative grassland and woodland #fungi workshop at Milden Hall today with Juliet Hawkins, one of Suffolk’s few fungi experts! I didn’t notice the day go by, and the end came too soon. Many thanks to Juliet for sharing her knowledge, and to the SNS for supporting the event.

Seashore #springtail (Anurida maritima): rather unusual #rockpool creature. Tiny insect-like animal living on surface film, scavenging at low tide, and migrating upshore with high tide to hide in huge groups for safety and probably reproduction. Port nam Murrach near Arisaig, Highland, Scotland.

1/3 While on holiday in Scotland this summer, my young daughter collected random twig from fallen oak because she likes to share #lichens with me. I'll be damned if it didn't have Lecanora sinuosa on it! Not even three dozen records in all of Britain. Only described as new to science in 1999 in…

Announcing another chance to learn #lichens online! My next 'Lichens for Beginners' course starts in January. Perfect for anyone just discovering these unique and beautiful life-forms. All you need to know to understand lichens and identify common species. Join me! aspenecology.com/lichens-for-...

Honoured to announce my appointment as the new County #Lichen Recorder for Suffolk! Grateful to @suffolk-nats1929.bsky.social for the opportunity to serve, as well as to my predecessor and now 'Emeritus Recorder' Dr Chris Hitch, a lichenological giant of East Anglia. aspenecology.com/suffolk-coun...

Another #rockpool #seaweed that belongs taxonomically plants, but which looks like coral, is this coralline red #alga. Like pink forms below, needs microscopy to identify to species. I find variety of these algal life-forms astonishing, and often strikingly beautiful. Port nam Murrach, near Arisaig.

1/2 Another #lichen I see in Scotland but not East Anglia is Lichina confinis. Filamentous cyanolichen like Ephebe lanata (see post series below), but it's found on coasts rather than in or near freshwater. Can be confused with L pygmaea, but there are sure ways to separate them in field. First…

1/2 Circling back to Scottish #rockpool shrimp as promised below. Curious little creatures: they'll manicure your hand by removing dead skin with tiny claws if you keep still! Feels like nothing more than barely perceptible tickle. Principle genus is Palaemon, with two common species: P elegans and…

New factsheet and specimen galleries available: Xanthoria parietina. Probably Britain's most common #lichen. Originally adapted to coastal, dropping-enriched bird-perches. But now all-conquering thanks to huge burden of nitrogen pollution in today's environment. See aspenecology.com/xanthoria-pa...

Thank you UKCEH for relaunching this app to measure nitrogen air-pollution using #lichens! Outstanding tool for citizen scientists! Essentially same method used by professional field lichenologists, too (applying useful modifications in Hope [2019]: cdn.naturalresources.wales/689206/nrw-e...).

1/2 #Seaweeds aren't only sort of #alga in Scottish #rockpools. This is Rivularia: colonial photosynthesising #bacteria once known as 'blue-green algae' but now as #cyanobacteria. It's adapted to nutrient-poor conditions, and grows slowly, which attests to general cleanliness of rockpools that I…

More #lichens I see in Scotland, but not East Anglia: Variospora (Caloplaca) thallincola. (There is single record in each of Norfolk and Suffolk, but I suspect mistaken ID). Quite common where it occurs, on British rocky shores. Even so, it's small joy each time I see its elegant, sculptural form!

More #seaweed from Scottish #rockpools: a species of Cladophora. Filamentous, branching green #alga (i.e. plant) growing in profusion from high to low shore. Each branch is chain of single cells! One of most common types of seaweed in Britain and indeed around world. Port nam Murrach, near Arisaig.

Continuing theme of #lichens I see on Scottish holidays, but which aren't found at home in Suffolk: Ophioparma ventosa, a most attractive lichen with pale thallus and blood-red apothecia. Thallus can appear yellowish (with usnic acid) or greyish (without). On siliceous boulder, Bracora, Loch Morar.

Daisy anemone (Cereus pedunculatus), Camusdarach, Scotland: last of four sea #anemone species seen while exploring #rockpools this summer (others in chain of posts below). Buries itself in sandy crevices with only mouth and short tentacles showing: many hundreds of them waiting to trap unwary prey.

Ephebe lanata on partly submerged boulder in Loch Morar, Scotland. Typical filamentous or 'hair' #lichen: like thin skein of fungal hyphae entwining long chain of Stigonema #cyanobacteria. Common in aquatic habitats in N and W of Britain. Seen on summer holiday in Scotland: not found in East Anglia!

Sand-mason #worm (Lanice conchilega), Camusdarach, Scotland. Worm itself (up to 30 cm long) lives in tube of cemented sand and shell, filtering food using many tentacles, assisted by untidy tube fringe. Common all round Britain: don't let messy looks keep you from admiring this successful life-form!

What's rockpooling without flushing out #crabs? Often surprising for them and you! Crab body-plan has evolved separately multiple times: they're clearly versatile, successful creatures. Here's selection of common shore crabs (Carcenas maenas) from summer holiday among Scottish #rockpools near Morar.

Next #lichen info sheet and image gallery! Variospora (Caloplaca) flavescens: very common in England. Don't confuse with V aurantia (shorter, flatter lobes) or Calogaya pusilla (Caloplaca saxatilis; apothecia closer to margins, smaller thallus, often more pruinose). aspenecology.com/variospora-c...

As per nested posts below, some #rockpool #seaweeds are taxonomically plants. Some just look like it. Yet others are plants despite looking like coral: e.g. encrusting, calcified red #algae. These two belong to 'lithothamnia' group requiring microscopy to identify. Camusdarach, Highland, Scotland.

1/4 Notable and nationally scarce (but probably under-recorded) #lichen Lepra excludens, on coastal siliceous rock, near Morar, Highland, Scotland. First record for hectad NM69, and one of only handful for VC97 West Inverness-shire. There are similar 'white sorediate crusts', but L excludens can be…

Most dazzling sea #anemone I observed in Scottish #rockpools this summer: dahlia anemone (Urticina felina). So colourful it's named after two flowers! This large anemone sports sticky warts on column so gravel and shell adhere and it can hide with tentacles retracted. Found all round British shores.

Join me at @suffolkwildlife.bsky.social Carlton Marshes on 11 October and discover the secret world of #lichens! We'll learn all about the extraordinary beauty, variety and ecological importance of lichens, before heading out to see lichens 'in the wild'! www.suffolkwildlifetrust.org/events/2025-...

Icmadophila ericetorum on peat above Loch Morar, Scotland. Distinctive #lichen with almost bluish granular thallus and striking pink apothecia! Only member of its genus in Britain. Common on damp ground in Scottish highlands ('Icmadophila'='loves dampness'), but still first record for hectad NM79.

Strange beauty of sea #anemones is great joy of exploring #rockpools. Distant cousins of coral and jellyfish. I observed four species on summer holidays in Morar, Scotland, including common beadlet (Actinia equina) below. Also common is snakelocks (Anemonia viridis): like stinging bowl of spaghetti!

1/3 This is Fuscidea lightfootii from Bracorina, Loch Morar, Scotland. First for hectad NM79. Normally fertile, it's sometimes found infertile as here, with soredia (powdery vegetative propagules) only. In this state, it's easy to confuse with other 'dreaded green sorediate crusts': dreaded…

Next 'holiday #seaweed' is distinctive 'green sea fingers'! Three look-alike species are found in Britain. All belong to genus Codium; all are green #algae (so plants); one (C fragile) is invasive. Note peek-a-boo shrimp hiding in one photo: we'll return to them in our tour of Scottish rockpools!

Lepra corallina (white #lichen with peg-like isidia) infected by Sclerococcum sphaerale (black mould #fungus with grape-like sporodochia). Common fungal infection of this lichen species, but first hectad record. L corallina is itself common on stone in N and W of Britain. Above Loch Morar, Scotland.

More #seaweed from holiday. Gutweed (Ulva intestinalis) is green #alga (plant) often dominating upper-shore #rockpools. Looks a mess out of water, but underwater it's otherworldly: jungle of thin, intestinal tubes, bubbling with oxygen by-product of photosynthesis. Near Morar and on Eigg, Scotland.

Exceedingly few #lichens can grow as far down shore as Wahlenbergiella (Verrucaria) mucosa. It can survive lengthy saltwater immersion: note barnacles! Indeed, it doesn't occur above high tide: true #marine species. Common on British rocky coasts: this from Achaidh Mhoir beach near Morar, Scotland.