Intertidal Invertebrates of the Monterey Bay Area, California

Compiled & photographed by Gary McDonald, Long Marine Laboratory, University of California, Santa Cruz

Description: Tentacles highly variable in color: red, pink, white, orange, black, brown, or blue; sometimes with whitish flecks; oral disk may be green, pink, or orange. Tubercles well developed on upper third of column.
Size: Tentacular crown up to 7 cm in diameter.
Notes: Typically buried in sand or gravel, attached to rock or cobble below surface, or in abandoned holes made by boring clams, leaving only the tentacles exposed.