Wildlife of the Solway
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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 […]
66. The Tadpole Shrimp. Wildlife of the Solway
66. The Tadpole Shrimp. Wildlife of the Solway Wildlife of The Solway Firth Number 66. The Tadpole Shrimp (Triops Cancriformis) by Mark Vollers On the Scottish side of the Solway Firth at Caerlaverock in remote brackish estuarine pools lives one of the oldest living species on earth, little changed for more than 200 million years. […]
65. Native Lobster Breeding. Wildlife of The Solway
Wildlife of The Solway – 65 – Native Lobster Breeding. For the last five years the Lake District Coast Aquarium has been running a lobster hatchery as part of the aquarium display sequence. As a result of its successful operation we have released several thousand juveniles back into West Cumbrian coastal waters. Apart from the […]
