Oak Bay 

Jefferson Co., WA

Site Description:       

This bay is near the north end of Puget Sound, just off Admiralty Inlet.  On the west side of the bay you have the mainland of the Olympic Peninsula.  Indian and Marrowstone Islands border it to the north and east.  A narrow channel connects Oak Bay with Port Townsend Bay and is lined by a boulder seawall on each side.   There are a few public beaches surrounding the bay.  They are primarily sandy with some areas of small cobbles and a few eelgrass beds.  On the west side is Oak Bay County park.  At the northeast end of the bay, Indian Island provides several beach access points.   A stream drains off the island onto the northernmost beach at low tide.  All of these beaches at the north end of the bay are very near each other and nearly the same mix of species has been found at each one.  Above the west seawall is also an area of saltwater marsh and a variety of marsh/land snails can be found there.  

Google Map
 

                              
              Looking west from Oak Bay County Park across to Indian Island.  Boulder-lined channel is to the left.      


Species List:

     Following is a list of mollusk species observed at this location by members and associates of the club.  This is by no means a complete list of the species which may occur at this site.  Revisions and additions to the data are made as we acquire new information.   When a site contains more than one very distinctive type of habitat or if multiple sites were included in a single location, then a species list for each is included.
    We indicate frequency of occurrence based on our observations.  This is an indicator of how likely it is that you may be able to find this species yourself and is not a formal population survey.  

     Frequency Code:  (Based on the assumption that you are looking in the appropriate location where the species
                                          likes to live - on rocks, in sand, etc.  Some populations fluctuate seasonally.  Ours are based
                                          on the spring/summer seasons.)
     [4] - Rare - very difficult to find, maybe only a couple found after repeated visits to the site
     [3] - Uncommon - difficult to find, may not see on every trip but dedicated searching may turn up a few
     [2] - Common - easy to find, should locate a number of them on any given day
     [1] - Abundant - very easy to find, large numbers should be seen on every trip

Data is all intertidal unless noted.

     Bivalves
Arcuatula senhousia  [4]  (only in saltwater marsh area)
Chlamys hastata  [4]  (juveniles)
Clinocardium nuttallii  [2]
Crassadoma gigantea  [4]
Crassostrea gigas  [2]
Entodesma navicula  [4]
Hiatella arctica  [4]
Leukoma staminea  [1]
Macoma balthica  [3]
Macoma inquinata  [2]
Macoma nasuta  [2]
Macoma secta  [2]
Modiolus rectus  [4]
Mya arenaria  [3]
Mytilus complex  [1]
Nuttallia obscurata  [1]
Panopea generosa  [4]
Pododesmus macrochisma  [2]
Saxidomus gigantea  [1]
Simomactra falcata  [4]
Solen sicarius  [4]
Tellina modesta  [4]
Tellina nuculoides  [4]
Tresus capax  [2]
Tresus nuttallii  [2]
Venerupis philippinarum  [1]
 
     Gastropods
Alvania compacta  [4]
Amphissa columbiana  [3]
Batillaria attramentaria  [2]  (only in saltwater marsh area)
Calliostoma ligatum  [3]
Cerithiopsis sp.  [4]
Cryptobranchia concentrica  [4]  
Diodora aspera  [3]
Lacuna sp.  [3]
Limneria prolongata  [4]  
Littorina scutulata  [1]
Littorina sitkana  [2]
Lottia pelta  [1]
Lottia persona  [2]
Lottia scutum  [2]
Margarites pupillus  [3]
Melanella micans  [4]
Neverita lewisii  [3]
Nucella lamellosa  [2]
Nucella ostrina  [3]
"Odostomia" tenuisculpta  [4]
Puncturella galeata  [4]
Trichotropis cancellata  [4]
Velutina velutina  [4]

     Nudibranchs
Aeolidia papillosa  [4]
Armina californica  [4]
Diaulula odonoghuei  [4]
Doris montereyensis  [4]
Haminoea vesicula  [4]
Olea hansineensis  [4]
Onchidoris bilamellata  [4]
Triopha catalinae  [4]  

     Chitons
Cryptochiton stelleri  [4]  (juveniles)
Cyanoplax dentiens  [4]
Dendrochiton flectens  [4]
Katharina tunicata  [4]
Lepidozona mertensii  [3]
Lepidozona radians  [4]
Lepidozona retiporosa  [4]
Mopalia cirrata  [4]
Mopalia hindsii  [4]
Mopalia kennerleyi  [3]
Mopalia imporcata  [4]
Mopalia kennerleyi  [3]
Mopalia lignosa  [4]
Mopalia muscosa  [4]
Mopalia spectabilis  [4]
Mopalia swanii  [4]
Mopalia vespertina  [3]
Tonicella lineata  [3]      

   
Home  About Us  Meetings&Events  Articles  Northwest Shells  Links  Contact Us  Site Map  

This page last revised: 9-21-2022