Here you see high tide at the mouth of Patten Stream in the rain on Saturday. However, while editing this image, I discovered that I apparently had photographed a very rare species – the illusive Maine Alligator. (Let your imagination off its leash, look closely, and see if you can find it.)
Well …. Maybe I at least captured what I aimed at: apparent examples of common orange lichen (Xanthoria parietina) growing along the rocky shoreline. The growth also is known as maritime sunburst lichen. It often grows on walls, hence it has the scientific epithet “parietina,” which means “on walls.” This lichen was chosen as a model organism for genomic sequencing.
(Image taken in Surry, Maine, on June 8, 2024.)