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On March 6th a photograph was taken of a mass
stranding of Common Starfish,
Asterias rubens, which
had occurred over the past couple of days on the coast
of east Kent. There were strandings along others areas of the
Kent coast with an estimated number of starfish in the region of
10 million. The reason for this strange phenomenon is not known.
There are often mass strandings of creatures which float at sea,
when they are blown ashore by high winds, but why would a
creature that spends its life on the seabed strand in such
numbers? Adverse weather conditions and
sudden changes in water salinity
have been suggested, but that seems unlikely. A more likely
explanation is that
many echinoderms like starfish go through a “boom and bust”
population cycle, some years they multiply to enormous numbers
and then the population crashes. There have been reports of mass
strandings in other regions of the British coast, including the
coast of Lancashire, and the British Marine Life Study Society
would like to receive information of any other mass strandings
found. If
you come
 across
a mass stranding please let me know and I will pass it
on to the BMLSS. Include photos if possible.
A woman sunbathing on a boat in the Florida Keys
was killed when struck by an Eagle Ray,
Myliobatis aquila,
which had jumped out of the water and struck her
on the head or neck. They have a whip-like tail and a poison
spine, large wing-like pectoral fins that can measure 5·2 metres
across, a distinct head with lateral eyes, and weigh up to
227 kg. The Eagle Ray can jump well clear of the water and has
flat, crushing teeth set in a powerful jaw with which it can
crush even large, heavy-shelled clams, and is often a pest to
shellfish fishermen.
A fossilised “sea monster” unearthed on an
Arctic island is the largest marine reptile known to science.
The 150 million year old specimen was found on Spitsbergen in
the Arctic Island chain in 2006. The Jurassic-era leviathan is
one of 40 sea reptiles from a fossil “treasure trove” uncovered
on the island by Norwegian scientists. Nicknamed “The Monster”,
the immense creature would have measured 15 metres (50 ft) from
nose to tail. A large pliosaur was big enough to pick up a
 small
car in it’s jaws and bite it in half.
There were only 24 reported sightings during
March, 16 of which were of Harbour Porpoises, all of these were
between Pendeen and Logan Rock except two sightings off The
Lizard. There were 3 reports of Bottlenose Dolphins, 3 were seen
off St Ives on the 27 and a pod of 8 or 9 were seen off
Pendennis Point on the 28th and the 31st. Two dolphins seen off
Charlestown on the 5th were probably also Bottlenose. A pod of 7
Pilot Whales were seen off Kingsand near Plymouth on the 25th
and a Leatherback Turtle was seen off The Lizard on the 19th. A
small group of about 25 Goose Barnacles were found at Godrevy on
7th March.
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