Intertidal Invertebrates ID
The Light and Smith Manual. Intertidal invertebrates from Central California to Oregon is considered a top resource and must have for those who live in that region. But the fauna in Southern California is different. Is anyone aware of anything that is considered of equal or close quality for Southern California?
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Nothing that I know of.... however, a considerable proportion of the SoCal fauna is the same.
https://www.amazon.com/Intertidal-Invertebrates-California-Robert-Harding/dp/0804710457 is an outstanding resource for the whole state, but I don't think it takes a comprehensive, manual approach like Light's does.
www.marinespecies.org is where I find some good information. But its usually the eyes of the inaturalist team that help the most!
What Ken-ichi said. Best of the best IMHO. No keys but great info. Hands down my favorite guide book to west coast marine inverts. This is also awesome: https://www.amazon.com/Common-Intertidal-Invertebrates-Southern-California/dp/0917962109 I picked it up at the Scripps Aquarium in my 20s and was just now surprised to see it on Amazon for $1.98!! Snap it up, BJ! It has keys and nice line drawings---old taxonomy but Morris, Abbott, Haderlie has the same issue.
The SoCal fauna is is subtropical but the water tends to be on the cold side a lot of the time. There are a number of species which occur only in this very small faunal zone, from Point Conception south to midway down the outer coast of Baja California, and that's that.
There are also many species that are the same as the species further north, and also there are a number of species whose ranges reach well into the tropical Panamic Province.
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