Posts Tagged Ventura Pier

California’s Longest Piers

The question in regard to the length of California’s piers is one that has come up fairly often and there is a lot of misinformation out there. Here’s the lengths — Pier— Length — Comments 1. San Mateo Pier — 4,135 feet — Part of the old San Mateo Bridge — now closed 2. Berkeley [...]

Common Thresher Shark

 Order Lamniformes — Thresher Sharks—Family Alopiidae Small thresher shark from the Pacifica Pier in 2006 Species: Alopias vulpinus (Bonnaterre, 1788); from the Greek word alopos and Latin word vulpes, (both meaning fox). Alternate Names: Thresher, blue thresher, longtail shark, swiveltail, fox shark, sea fox, fish shark, sea ope, pesca pavone. A worldwide range with a [...]

Queenfish

Croakers—Family Sciaeidae Queenfish from the Ventura Pier in 2011 Species: Seriphus politus (Ayres, 1860); from the Greek word seriph (a kind of locust, an island near Greece, or a kind of wormwood—take your pick. Evidently, the scientist who gave the fish its scientific name, a Dr. Ayres, never specified why he used this name.), the [...]

Spiny Dogfish

Order Squaliformes  Dogfish Sharks—Family Squalidae Large spiny dogfish taken at the Cayucos Pier in 2007 Species: Squalus acanthias (Linnaeus, 1758); from the Latin word squalus  (shark) and the Greek word akanthias (spines), or Squalus suckleyi; from the Latin word squalus (shark) and suckleyi honoring George Suckley (1830-1869), a naturalist and Civil War surgeon. Pick A [...]

California Spiny Lobster

Subphylum Crustacea (Crustaceans) Order Decapoda Spiny Lobster—Family Palinuridae A Spiny Lobster up close and personal Species: Panulirus interruptus (Randall, 1840); interruptus refers to the grooves on the abdomen which are interrupted in this species. A lobster from the Shelter Island Pier in San Diego Bay in 2009 Alternate Name: Bugs, crayfish, marine crayfish, rock lobster [...]