Saw this on the beach last week. I was just bending down to photograph some neat chitons when my siblings yelled from about 20 yards away that they had found a seastar we’ve never seen, and what a seastar! https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/276809130
That is beautiful! I have a question because of course your area seems so different to me. This might be stupid, but is the sea water there extremely cold right now? And does it ever get warm?
I don’t think the temperature of our seawater changes a whole lot. The current temperature is about 40°F (4.5°C), but I think the surface of the water can get pretty cold during the winter. It gets warmer during the summer and maybe when warm water gets carried here in currents, but doesn’t really reach a temperature where it would be comfortable to swim in it.
Discovery of an Orange Spondylus in Southern Tenerife
In January of this year, a remarkable discovery was made by one of our desalination team members working off the southern coast of Tenerife (Canary Islands). While conducting a routine dive near a benthic artificial structure, they encountered a brilliantly colored Spondylus specimen—strikingly vivid in its orange hue.
The individual was deceased at the time of collection, yet its pristine shell and unusually intense pigmentation immediately drew attention. Based on morphology and known regional distribution, the specimen is most likely Spondylus senegalensis—currently recognized as the only representative of the genus Spondylus inhabiting the waters around the Canary Islands.
What makes this find particularly noteworthy is its coloration. Bright orange is among the rarest hues observed in the Family Spondylidae J. E. Gray, 1826 within the eastern Atlantic, particularly in the Canary Islands and the adjacent West African marine zone. While Spondylus senegalensis typically exhibits coloration ranging from pale pink to violet or reddish hues, the appearance of such a vividly orange specimen suggests an extremely rare morph, potentially influenced by environmental conditions, dietary factors, or localized genetic variation.
