A Conversation with Kathleen Turner or the Revenge of the Bloody Hermit Crab!

   On Wednesday the surf had diminished and it was time to give Kahalu'u a try.  At 8:30 in the morning the pavilion was fairly empty, but our good friend Kathleen Turner, co-star with Michael Douglas in the Joan

Reef Teacher and Co-Star Enjoy a Colombian Bonfire.

Wilder movies, now employed as Reef Teacher-in-Chief, was at her post.  We enjoyed a quick chat during which she told me that the court photographer had recently shot a juvenile Short Nosed Wrasse.  Back in the day, Professor Hillis and I spent many a carefree hour chasing these speckled juveniles around the bay.  I have not seen one there in a year or two, so this gave me something to look for as I made my circuit.

   There is always the possibility that the celebrity reef teacher thinks that I am (how you say?) full of crap.  So just in case she is checking out the blog, I am including two pictures of juvenile Shortnose 

An extreme juvenile Shortnose Wrasse, K Bay 2017

Wrasse taken by yours truly at Kahalu'u.   The most recent shows a very immature fish, a swimming bullet of a baby fish with bizarre, probably non-functional, fins. Light green in color, he boasts a myriad of dandruff-like speckles.  This little bugger darted around in such a way as to make photography a real challenge.  The fact that he was an inch and a half long didn't help.

   

 

 

 

 

 

Shortnose Wrasse Juv., Kahalu'u 2012

 The older photo, taken in 2012, shows a definite juvenile, but one much closer to the initial phase Shortnose Wrasse.  He has traded in those blunt projections that passed for fins for a more traditional set.  He still has diffuse white spotting and nothing approaching the gorgeous multicolored rows of the adult, which is truly a gorgeous fish.

    The celebrity reef teacher did not show me the pictures taken by the court photographer, so I didn't know which end of the spectrum, maturity-wise, that I might be seeking.

    For my part, I encouraged Kathleen, who as it turns out is not married to Michael Douglas (or his progeny), to visit Bali.  I emphasized my usual selling points: cheap lodging, incredible fish watching and the fascinating Hindu culture replete with ancient temples and macabre funeral processions.  I mean, what's not to like?  I left out the part where the Indonesian government has promised me a lifetime supply of arak if I can actually convince someone to visit.  

Strawberry Drupe Home to a juvenile Bloody Hermit Crab

    Come to think of it, three years ago I did convince Peter and Marla to go to Bali (they loved it so much they returned the following year) and I never got my arak.  What's up with that? 

    Kathleen seemed interested, although she noted that the aforementioned husband is a surfer. Commensurate with that avocation he already has Bali on his radar.  Ms. Turner allowed that this would involve some cooperation and accommodation, but that cheap and awesome are outstanding characteristics in a vacation spot.

   For my part, I forwarded to her links to blogs from 2014 and 2017.  I can already taste that fiery arak as it slashes down my gullet.

   My trip around the bay was pleasant, if a bit mundane, but with one exception.  On the way out, I spotted a strawberry drupe heavily coated with red coralline algae.  On closer inspection, I noted that a hermit crab claw was placed strategically across the opening, serving as an ersatz operculum.  Although that claw looked mighty familiar, no amount of coaxing could lure this small decapod from his lair and

Bloody Hermit, juv.  Note the hairy legs and the red elbow patch.

an identification could not be made on the basis of that one cheliped.  And so I completed my otherwise uneventful circuit.  

    As is my habit, after completing my turn around the bay, I swam back up the middle for one last try.  I found the fine strawberry drupe with the reticent crab and a short distance away I discovered a similarly sized shell so worn that, if you weren't suspicious, might be passed off as an encrusted rock.  But no! Inside the opening I spied a claw identical to the the one in the drupe.  

    So how do you coax a recalcitrant hermit crab?  A good trick is to place the shell aperture side down on a relatively flat surface, and hope that the crab emerges and begins to walk. The first crab,in the fine strawberry drupe shell, did not fall for this trick.  In the above picture you will note the shell is in the aperture down position, all to no avail.  On this day the current was mild and the shell of number two stayed out in a shallow depression on top of a large piece of dead coral..  After a minute or so, I began to see some small movement.  Finding a handhold about two feet away, I swam

The Bloody Hermit Crab watches us from over his shoulder.

down, grabbed on and twisted my body, while fighting a small but definite current that wanted me to bend in a dramatically different direction.  In this way I was able to get a shot at the small  creature poking his antennae out from beneath the lip of the shell.   Not a bad piece of underwater gymnastics for an old goat who had just checked the 70 and over box.

    After another minute the crab wandered over the edge of the rubble and fell into the crevice from which he was initially plucked.  Upside down, he extended his eye stalk fully and watched me, over his shoulder, as it were.

    On the way in I encountered the Saddleback Butterfly pair, but little else.

    When I got ashore I discovered that Kathleen Turner had gone swimming with her clipboard, doing her monthly survey.  We chatted with Vincenzo for a few minutes and then headed back to the ranch.  The pictures of the crab, when I finally

Another beautiful Saddleback Butterfly at Kahalu'u

got them on the computer, revealed a small blood crab, Dardanus sanguinocarpus.  It is safe to say that shell number one harbored another of the same species.  Although there are larger species, this is the largest hermit crab that I see in the local bays.  This individual though wasn't all that big; he and his friend, who was resting five feet away are the first two juvenile Bloody Hermit Crabs that I have encountered.  This is a good thing. A breeding stock survives and we can look forward to more encounters with this species.    I assume that Kathleen made it ashore, but if you want to check up on her feel free to email KTurner96740@moviestar/reefteacher.org.  She always responds, but in this instance it might take awhile.

jeff

Shortnose Wrasse, Kailua Kona Pier, May 2013

Another look at the red elbow