Wildlife of the Solway
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Wildlife of The Solway Firth: The Sea Toad
Wildlife of The Solway Firth [82] The Sea Toad – Hyas Araneus By Mark Vollers This spider crab, also known as the Greater Spider Crab, is found all around the British Isles but in greater numbers on North and Western coasts. It is found below the high tide mark in rock pools and under seaweed […]
Wildlife of The Solway Firth – The Harbour Porpoise
Wildlife of The Solway Firth – The Harbour Porpoise (Phocoena Phocoena) by Mark Vollers The Solway Firth is an excellent place to look out for the Harbour Porpoise as they are one of the smallest but most commonly spotted cetaceans ( toothed whales) along with Bottlenose and Common Dolphins. Porpoises grow to be between 1.2 and […]
Wildlife of The Solway Firth 80 – The Common Beaked Dolphin
Wildlife of The Solway Firth 80 – The Common Beaked Dolphin Delphinus delphis By Mark Vollers Just recently observant members of the public on Maryport promenade spotted a dolphin struggling in the breaking waves on the tideline and rang us at the nearby Aquarium. We were able to rush three staff to its assistance and […]
Wildlife of The Solway Firth 79 – The Little Cuttle
Wildlife of The Solway Firth 79 – The Little Cuttle Sepiola Atlantica The Little Cuttle, also known as the Bobtail Squid, really is small as it only reaches a maximum length of 5-6 cm during its short lifespan, but despite this it has an almost global distribution where the seabed is sandy. It is in […]
Wildlife of The Solway Firth 78 – The Lesser Sandeel
Wildlife of The Solway Firth 78 – The Lesser Sandeel, Ammodytus tobianus Although seeing a magnificent puffin like the one pictured would be very unlikely in The Solway Firth, it’s favourite food the Lesser Sandeel seen lined up in its beak is present here and around most of the UK all the year round. This […]
Wildlife of The Solway Firth Number 73 – The Common Octopus – Octopus Vulgaris
Wildlife of The Solway Firth Number 73 The Common Octopus – Octopus Vulgaris This amazing animal was the first invertebrate to be protected by law in the UK (1993) and is most frequently found in shallow waters along our Southern coasts. It has a relatively short lifespan of 1-2 years, but in that time it […]
69. The Electric Ray – Wildlife Of The Solway
69. The Electric Ray (Torpedo nobiliana) – Wildlife Of The Solway This is an unusual fish but very widespread in temperate seas including British waters. It has no commercial value but is caught occasionally as a by- catch by commercial trawlers and recreational anglers with somewhat shocking consequences! It has uniformly dark colouration and a […]
70. The Ballan Wrasse – Wildlife of The Solway
70. The Ballan Wrasse (Labrus bergylta) – Wildlife of The Solway The Ballan is the largest of several Wrasse species found around the UK , inhabiting rocky reefs down to 50m, particularly when Kelp seaweed forests are present. When they are small their colouration changes to better match their surroundings, so various shades of green […]
68. The Topknot – Wildlife of the Solway
The Topknot – Wildlife of the Solway This is a rarely seen fish even though it is distributed widely around Britain, mainly because it lives on rocky ground and is not a commercially targeted species. It is described as a left sided flatfish as its right eye has migrated around the head when it is […]
67. The Plaice. Wildlife of the Solway
67. The Plaice. Wildlife of the Solway The Plaice is one of the best known commercially exploited fish species with approximately 5,000 tons landed every year around Britain. Its range is from the Barents Sea in the North to the Mediterranean in the south. It has been seriously overfished in the past but now stocks […]
