This is the view a Nudibranch would see of Gary getting ready to photograph it. Learn more>
30 September 2008
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 LOOKING BACK AT
THE START
Recently I was looking over some of my photo files and it made me reminisce about when I first started taking photos of nudibranchs. In fact it goes back even further than that. I remember actually sending in drawings I had made of the nudibranchs I had found to the Sea Slug Forum.
Realizing that I had to do better than that I borrowed a Sea and Sea underwater digital camera from Greg Riddell of Sunreef Scuba Diving Services in Mooloolaba. And so it was that on December 12th 2002 I took my first photo of a nudibranch. Just for the record the critter was Chromodoris leopardus Rudman, 1987 at about 60 mm long. The dive site was The Pinnacles on the Gneering Shoals off Mooloolaba.
Although I was pleased to be able to record our finds this way I knew then that the quality could be improved if the right camera was used not only to give a better resolution but to enable much closer shots that fill the frame. So I “bit the bullet” did some serious research and purchased my own camera and housing. The rest is history, well at least the history that is recorded right here on this website. Who would have thought that it would have led to where we are now.
Since those unpretentious beginnings David and I have recorded 349 species here in our area of study, which covers all waters from Noosa in the north to Woody Point/Tangalooma, Moreton Island in the south. One hundred of these have been found in the intertidal habitat, no scuba needed.
2 September 2008
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 NEWLY DESCRIBED SPECIES?
It would have been nice to put a name to this face! Burghardt, Schroedl & Wagele recently described some new species of Phyllodesmium called, Phyllodesmium lizardensis.
According to the author Ingo Burghardt this is another undescribed species of Phyllodesmium.
19 July 2008
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SOME FINDS, SOME QUESTIONS, SOME MUSINGS
Intertidal explorations of Woody Point’s reefs and gutters over the past two weeks has delivered a plethora of spectacular sea slug species, some of which have proved new to our purpose. Those of particular note include:
Trinchesia sp. 4
Eubranchus sp. 2
Hermaea sp. 2
Hermaea sp. 3
In assisting us with identifications Richard Willan has predicted that the species composition at Woody Point is likely to be entirely different to the Sunshine Coast. This has spurred on our efforts here and justified our decision to include this different habitat in our survey area.
Although we are fortunate in finding and being able to photograph the small examples they do pose particular problems in attempting identifications.
Are they small species?
Are they just juveniles?
Are they recognizable as such?
While anaerobic extraction is beneficial as a crude method of assessing species presence and population levels it leaves us with many unanswered questions about food source and all other behavioural aspects. Finding the species is just the start. We now need to take the time to develop methods of observing them in their habitat that will reveal these details. This information will also go a long way towards providing answers to the above queries as well.
So perhaps our progress should be measured not only by the number of different species found but also by the development of our methods to understand them.
08 June 2008
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INTERTIDAL TREASURE AT WOODY POINT
 Where is Woody Point? A lovely little village with magnificent Moreton Bay views, Woody Point is located at the southern end of the Redcliffe Peninsula (just north of Brisbane, Queensland, Australia). Because team member David has just moved to live there we have decided to extend the survey area across from Tangalooma to include the Redcliffe Peninsula.
This morning Gary drove down to join David in their first serious low tide branching session on Woody Point’s exposed rocky reefs. Their efforts examining the tide pools and rocks have produced 4 species to start the list for this section of the survey area, even though the deterioration in the weather shortened this excursion.
Haminoea sp. 1
Dendrodoris nigra (with a red mantle margin)
Hypselodoris obscura
 …and the star find of the session:
Plocamopherus ceylonicus, a large 55mm specimen (a new size record).
Whilst very cryptic at rest, when disturbed it is certainly a demonstrative animal, forming the tail into a paddle, fully expanding its circular oral veil and then with strong lateral flexions is able to violently thrash about. Definitely one of the most energetic of nudibranchs.
We are also very hopeful of finding many more species when the great variety of seaweeds and algae growing there on the rocks can be properly investigated.
17 May 2008
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IS BIGGER BETTER?
 Last weekend saw us head back to one of our long time favourite dive sites, The Wall at Old Woman Island. We had been avoiding it of late due to big seas and runoff, waiting until it all settled down. When we arrived there last Saturday however, WOW, the clarity was amazing, just like drifting over the northern coral reefs.
After working up and down the wall for 2 hours and finding quite a variety of nice slug specimens we headed to the anchor for a final scrutiny of that terrain before we started our safety stop.
Looking down into a crevice right near the anchor we spied what appeared to be an unusual soft coral. Closer examination however revealed rhinophores!!!! This was without doubt one BIG slug.
Excitement just got the better of us and there were high fives at 10 metres.
 A beautiful example of Ceratosoma moloch 180mm long was lazily moving across the wall. With a purple body, orange tubercles and darker gills and rhinophores it was a colour form that we found as captivating as it was uncommon.
Here for a change was a slug that you could grab with your hand rather than have to put under a microscope. Seldom is a slug found where the zoom on your camera is not required for it to fill the frame.
Bigger is better, though only when you have been finding tiny ones for so long.
24 April 2008
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NEW DISCOVERY!
 One day before ANZAC Day (i.e., 24th April), I sent Gary a message to say I was puzzled over the brightly spotted Chromodoris (NTM P26956) I collected at Crocodile Island, Darwin Harbour, Northern Territory, when Gary was up in Darwin diving for nudibranchs with me in 2004. At that time I identified it as Hypselodoris saintvincentius and it is up on Gary’s nudibranch website under that name. However I have just been looking at the members of the Hypselodoris sagamiensis species group (H. peasei, H. sagamiensis, H. placida, H. maritima) trying to identify an individual posted on Nudi Pixel and I realised it is a colour form of H. placida <http://www.nudibranch.com.au/pages/9497a.htm> (Baba, 1949). So it was/is a new record for Australia. I has never seen another individual, either in Darwin Harbour or elsewhere in northern Australia. Richard Willan
14 April 2008
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ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL DAY - ANOTHER BEAUTIFUL SLUG
Our trip out to “Castle Rock” on the Gneering Shoals last Saturday wasvery rewarding. Not only wasthe water a very deep blue but the wind speed did not get above 15 knots and our underwater discoveries proved notable.
Among many others, our Opisthobranch finds worth particular mention include:
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Cratena cf. affinis: A new record for Southern Queensland. Take a look at the unusually shaped rhinophores in the close ups. There are 2 flanges on each which appear to be not only of a general round shape but tri-lobed as well with a white dusting on each lobe.
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Phestilla melanobrachia: The yellow form (see news item below). Note the close up photos of the transparent cerata showing the yellow digestive diverticulum.
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Goniodoridella savignyi: We have added a pic showing the mouth area on the ventral surface.
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Facelina sp. 3: Often mistaken for Phidiana indica. The close up of the cerata clearly show the orange diverticulum, the anterior black spot and the pale yellow to cream tip.
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Phyllidia exquisita: With this specimen we took the opportunity to take some taxonomic pics on black as well as close ups of the lamellate rhinophores and the small oral tentacles on the ventral surface.
Altogether a worthwhile day with enlightening follow up.
14 April 2008
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WHAT'S IN A NAME?
 After diving this past weekend we found the 'ever so elusive' golden brother/sister of the black version of Phestilla melanobrachia, which is supposed to be found among the coral Tubastrea sp. Well after a few years of searching for this species we finally find it not ON the coral but UNDER it! The animal had missing cerata which tells us a fish attacked it and then spat it out.
Now to it's name...after misspelling it with the name Phestilla melanobranchia Richard Willan let me know it should be spelt Phestilla melanobrachia! A difference in just a single letter can make a difference in a scientific name:
“melanobrachia” means black arm, as in the dark colour form of this species with black cerata;
“melanobranchia” would mean black gill, and aeolids don’t have gills. Well there you go, in scientific nomenclature spelling is very important!
07 April 2008
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GENTLEMEN SCIENTISTS
 We like to style ourselves, perhaps pretentiously, as gentlemen scientists but just what is a gentleman scientist?
In the 18th and 19th centuries before “science” became a vocation and before the centres of higher learning developed science based curricula most research into our natural world was undertaken by “untrained” individuals of independent means who had the wealth (or opportunity), time and inclination to study (observe, record, comment and conclude) the way and why of things. In today’s parlance you would say they were self funded.
In considering natural history perhaps among the best known Gentlemen Scientists in the English speaking world would be Sir Joseph Banks and Charles Darwin.
Young wealthy and of inquiring mind Joseph Banks eschewed the typical young aristocrat’s diversion of the times, The Grand Tour of Europe, allegedly predicting “Every blockhead does that ; my Grand Tour shall be one around the whole globe”. Banks joined Cook’s Endeavour for its voyage of discovery during 1768 to 1771 and actually underwrote the natural history aspect of the voyage to the tune of £10,000. This was a remarkable undertaking all the more illustrated by the trouble they experienced when the Endeavour arrived in Rio de Janeiro. The Portuguese Viceroy was highly suspicious of their intentions and while he would allow revictualing nobody was permitted ashore. Lieutenant Gore recorded in his journal: “one suspicion of us among many Others is that our Ship is a Trading Spy and that Mr Banks and the Doctor are both Supercargoes and Engineers and not naturalists. For the Business of such being so very abstruse and unprofitable That they cannot believe Gentlemen would come so Far as Brazil on that Account only”. Probably the greatest opportunity for any person ever was afforded Banks in his recording of the flora and fauna of the southern continent because the life forms were just so different to any other part of the world. His good fortune in being the man on the spot for such a dramatic encounter has no precedent nor can ever be equalled.
Charles Darwin after ignoring much of his formal studies formulated his convention shattering theories on the origin of species and natural selection, following his global circumnavigation onboard the Beagle that he only joined by default. He was supported financially by his father who after much persuasion finally agreed to his joining the voyage that exposed him to the stimuli that eventually led to his acclaimed notions.
The contemporary scientist or academic receives rigorous training in the scientific model and must follow those conventions for qualification and advancement. However it is this form and method that ensures their work is of use to others.
Whilst many professionals disdain the efforts of amateurs there are those who are cognizant of the contribution they make and welcome and nurture those efforts, guiding them through the scientific protocols and the labyrinth of published academic literature, patiently insisting they conform to well established conventions.
To a large extent government today has a stranglehold on much of natural science through their funding of projects and institutions and naturally their requirements are for qualified people.
We as amateurs do however, with no expectation of financial reward, have the freedom of pursuing our own agenda and goals without the inconvenience of administrative responsibilities, teaching obligations and funding body direction.
Although we by no means compare ourselves to the aforementioned icons of science we do claim to follow in their footsteps or stand on their shoulders not so much to see further but to record what we do see and to try and make order and sense out of that. We acknowledge that we are but sciolists in a world of erudite scholars but that does not deter us from “having a go”, to do what we enjoy. And if what we enjoy can contribute in some way to the greater understanding then society has benefited at no cost.
So if you have an interest or dream like us, don’t concern yourself about what people think or say just get into it because the greatest mistake you can make is to be afraid of making one.
(Our thanks to Richard Willan and Bill Rudman for their conversations and correspondence on these subjects)
01 April 2008
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HOW THEY CHANGE
 Last weekend on the Gneering Shoals at 14 metres depth we found a small
8 mm Bornellidae recognizable by its elongate body possessive of a high dorsum rounded in profile. The foot was the same width as the mantle so it lacked a mantle margin. The head bore a group of finger-like processes on each side. The rhinophores were surrounded by tall sheaths bearing a number of slender papillae. Along the dorsum were several paired clusters of cerata. We could not however ascertain gills at the base of these cerata it being such a small specimen. Also, when disturbed it would try to swim with strong eel-like flexions of its body.
However the beautiful white dusted appearance of the translucent mantle and foot together with a distinct blue spot between the rhinophores truly seduced us and initially we were quite excited that perhaps we had a “newbie” on our hands. We were a little worried though about the orange rings near the tips of the cerata knowing that they would be of consequence and may signify it as Bornella stellifer.
Alas Richard Willan had no doubts about calling it a juvenile Bornella stellifer.
Some nudibranchs always look the same, some have tremendous variation within the species and others change remarkably as they mature.
It all makes for an interesting and challenging obsession.
Reference: MARSHALL, J.G. & R.C. WILLAN 1999, Nudibranchs of Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef. Backhuys Publishers.
30 March 2008
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TOO MUCH VIZ
Can the viz be too good?
Today at Shellacey Reef on the Gneering Shoals off Mooloolaba we experienced 30 metre visibility (below David doing what he does best!). This is exceptional clarity for the area and although we do  love this and at the risk of being labelled whingers it does though put us off our concentration when looking for nudibranchs that might only be 4 mm long.
For example while trying to focus our attention on a small patch of hydroids that might conceal a nudibranch species we notice out of the corner of our eye an octopus jetting across the reef 20 metres away. Too distracting. So too was a big school of Surgeon fish milling around a coral head nearly 30 metres  away. In fact it was so clear no sooner had we begun our descent than we spotted a beautiful Glossodoris rubroannulata (left) below us obviously sunning itself on the reef top. (nice tan!)
One advantage though is that you can keep a good eye on the other team member not so much for problems but to ensure he doesn’t get pics of a critter and you miss out. It’s a cut throat business this “branching”.
It can’t be all bad I suppose as the nudibranchs must have come out to play in the clean water because we saw dozens of species just at this one site. Dirty water though does focus the mind. WHEW!
17 March 2008
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ANOTHER DISCOVERY FOR AUSTRALIA!
 After descending to 18 m we decided to swim to the end of the wall and start searching, at Shellacey reef. After only a few minutes we found on a small out-cropping, a couple of Aeolids grazing. Only after we looked at them under the microscope did we find out that we had found two Trinchesia puellula. After noticing the orange anterior band, we sent the photos to Richard Willan for positive ID. Found in Japan and now here on the east coast of Australia.
17 March 2008
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TOO TINY FOR OUR OWN GOOD!
One of the drawbacks of finding very small specimens is that in many cases they are a very early juvenile stage. They could be a juvenile form of one we have already found or of a species unknown to us. Unless they possess very distinctive features also identifiable in the adult it is fraught with danger to attempt to put a name to it.
 Take this example of a very tiny, 0.6 mm, dorid extracted from an intertidal rock at Alex Headland last weekend. We were very impressed by the pattern of spicules on the mantle and asked Richard Willan for his thoughts:
“The orange dorid is a juvenile. It might be a juvenile Doriopsilla miniata from the diagonal spicules in the mantle, but the blue spots laterally on the mantle are not possessed by adult D. miniata.”
Nice critter, nice pic but nowhere to put it unless we start up an unknown juvenile page. (We'll put them up anyway in The Collection!)
That might not be a bad idea because the reason for collecting and recording information is the hope that someday someone will come along and be able to make further use of it in the light of fresh knowledge. It is our collective knowledge that enables science to advance.
13 March 2008
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NEW AND IMPROVED NUDIBRANCH.COM.AU
As you would have noticed by now the website has had a huge makeover thanks to the dedicated efforts of our webmaster. Gary is to be congratulated for producing such a user friendly site.
But it is much more than just a fresh new look.
The nav bars at the top left on each page make it much easier to get around the site.
Some of the new features include a "SPECIES LIST" in both taxonomic and alphabetical order so that you can find an animal and bring up related pics more easily. There is a search engine provided to also help identification. For example, just type in the major colour of the nudibranch you saw and see if any of the choices offered match your find.
Can’t find it? Send us a message on the special form page – “WHICH NUDIBRANCH IS IT?” and we will have it identified for you.
There is a "NEWS PAGE"to keep you up to date with what’s happening, a "RESOURCES PAGE"to help you with further research and lots of information about how we go about finding the most beautiful creatures in the sea.
You can “CONTACT US” by email or put your view forward by joining in on the blogger page “NUDIBRANCH CENTRAL BLOGGER”.
We invite you to make the most of the site.
Happy branching.
7 March 2008
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WHAT PRICE NUDIBRANCHS?
In an attempt to make access to our nudibranch site easier for searchers we recently made inquires about the pricing of several other Domain names that were similar and could be linked to our site.
So among others we inquired about “nudibranch.com” & “nudibranchs.com”.
The difference in pricing is astounding.
“nudibranchs.com” came in at $US1788, exorbitant enough.
But the one that really impressed us the most was the reply we received about our inquiry for “nudibranch.com”. It came back as: “unusual name, we have had other inquiries for it and quoted them 15k Euro” (that’s about $Aus25,000 at today’s exchange rate folks). That’s probably the reason it is still available. We felt that was a bit steep for a non-profit site that just provides information on natural history.
So what have we learned from this?
Well it would appear that nudibranchs are quite expensive.
But A nudibranch is priceless.
1 March 2008
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SEARCHING FOR RARE ONES
 Richard Willan and Gary drove down to Coolangata and met up with Denis Riek where they drove to the pony fields and walked to the creek where Elysia bangtawaensis was found by Gary last on 29 July 2007.
Because of the big rains we did not find any. They all had a great explore of the creek down to the Cobaki Broadwater and along the marshlands finding lots of Onchidium daemelli (Pulmonate). Later on they drove to Jacobs Well to see if they could find Ercolanias but the same story, none to be found.
22 February 2008
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SEARCHING FOR SMALL ONES
Lately we have devised a method of finding very small nudibranchs on small rocks from intertidal zones.
We refer to this method as ANAEROBIC EXTRACTION which simply involves placing the encrusted rock into a bowl of sea water and waiting until the animals are drawn out. The rocks are carefully replaced following the procedure.
We closely observe the rocks as the oxygen content of the sea water decreases and the animals make their way off the rock towards the surface where the oxygen levels are higher and where they can be more easily identified and collected.
They are collected by use of a pipette.
We observe and photograph using our Prism Optical Zoom trinocular, stereomicroscope with a digital camera attached to the third tube and remotely controlled via a P.C. The specimens are placed in a viewing dish of suitable background contrast (usually black or white depending on animal colour).
The combination of this collection method and the microscope photography has proved rewarding with new species being encounted every time we use the procedure.
20 February 2008
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JUST FOR THE BRANCHER
http://amyshek.myphotos.cc/ozprice/index12.html
Amy Shek's website with photos and jewellery. Nice Nudibranch jewellery and other diving related pieces, even egg masses!
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01 March 2010
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MAKING SENSE OF SIMILAR VARIETY
 When you have set yourself a goal to find all the species of sea slugs in a certain area or region there are certain methods by which the search can be continually driven. One of those methods is to set other goals, such as a species count that must forever be driven upwards. Unfortunately by focusing purely on increasing that count we can sometimes lose sight of what we are really trying to achieve.
Just the other day we were trying to convince ourselves that some differences in mantle colouration and pattern were sufficient to call a specimen a different species. Some further research on similar looking species only served to confuse us. The particular group in question are those in the Chromodoris tinctoria (top photo) and Chromodoris reticulata (bottom photo) sphere.
In reviewing those species on all the websites and in all the books available to us as well as images forwarded to us by like-minded colleagues, we were overwhelmed by a virtual constellation of variety, but similar variety we might add. This description might be an oxymoron but it serves to highlight our dilemma. How to make sense of this?
The Sea Slug Forum takes the view that they are all but variants of just one species, a continuum of variety and similarity all linked by virtue that “….the species differences suggested by different colour patterns is not supported by internal anatomy.” The Forum further suggests that the differences are mainly associated with colour and pattern at the mantle edge. As the earliest name for any of the described species in this group was Doris tinctoria Ruppell & Leuckart, 1830, they are all grouped on the Forum under Chromodoris tinctoria (Ruppell & Leuckart, 1830).
Gosliner, Behrens & Valdes in their recent book Indo-Pacific Nudibranchs & Sea Slugs take the completely opposite and extreme view by listing members of this group as 11 distinct species on the basis of the colour patterns in photographs. They justify this position with the assertion that: “….there are consistent differences between specimens from different geographical localities.”
These are obviously the two extreme positions in this debate.
Our colleague Richard Willan on the other hand (Nudipixel & personal correspondence) leans towards the conservative end of the spectrum, believing there is no evidence to warrant calling them all different species, and commenting: “Whatever the species boundaries are, and whatever the name(s), it is clear the species within this group are highly variable.” He does however divide them into two broad groupings on the basis of observable external anatomical features namely, the number of gills and the size of the adult, as follows.
Chromodoris tinctoria (Ruppell & Leuckart, 1830):
Small when adult and less than 8 gills.
Chromodoris cf. reticulata (Quoy & Gaimard, 1832):
Large when adult and more than 12 gills.
Richard’s use of reticulata is explained thus: “…it was clear the name C. reticulata was becoming prevalent, through ignorance, on lots of internet sites. This is because the name can be matched to a reasonably good and recognisable drawing by the French scientists Quoy & Gaimard in 1832.” and further “So…I used reticulata, together with the cautionary “cf.” to indicate there was uncertainty that the southern Qld species matched the true C. reticulata (whatever it might be), in Undersea Jewels.”
We find this latter argument convincing. Our mindset has now been changed not only to finding all of the species, but also all of the many variations to all those species, which can be just as rewarding even though it does not increase our species count. It is human nature to try to understand and make organisation out of perceived chaos. One of the tried and tested methods is to classify everything according to an accepted code. However as Richard responded to one of my identification questions: “Essentially your question/observation strikes at the heart of all opisthobranch taxonomy. What are the limits of a species? That question still remains subjective, even though the answers might be morphologically based or (more and more nowadays) genetics based.”
Where then does this leave the differing opinions on this group? Richard Willan’s summing up is thus: “All I can do at this time is repeat their (Gosliner et al) words: ‘The entire group is in need of a major review.’”
26 February 2010
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STARS AND STRIPES
Our trip to Flinders Reef off Cape Moreton last Tuesday has proved more rewarding than we initially thought. Apart from fabulous visibility and glassy conditions, species number 417 for our list was found by David Hill, a colleague who sometimes dives with us and has excellent eyes for our main game.
Our first thoughts were that we had found Cyerce nigra again, feeding on the green Turtle Grass weed, Chlorodesmis fastigiata. Not so, we were informed by our colleague Richard Willan, whose own sharp eyes and depth of knowledge quickly corrected us. It was Cyerce nigricans.
The obvious difference (to us now) is in the markings on their leaf-shaped cerata. Richard pointed this out to us in commenting on the photo “The Cyerce has spots on the front face of the cerata instead of concentric lines - that makes it C. nigricans.” and “I had always assumed they were colour forms, but then Clay Carlson showed there were consistent differences in the radula which matched the differences in the colour pattern, so they are regarded as two separate spp. now.”
10 January 2010
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WHAT’S A FREAK?
(COLOUR FORMS AND DISTRIBUTION)
 It is to be expected that the more you dive the more unusual sights you will see. Then again you might think that the odd or unusual observation may become commonplace or at least a pattern develops that explains the atypical.
We had a pleasant dive on the HMAS Brisbane wreck last week and apart from some nice finds a couple of unusual things came to our attention.
The first concerns Tambja tenuilineata a small polycerid that we regularly find right across the Gneering Shoals and at Old Woman Island, grazing upon bryozoans. It is recognized by its green body colour with numerous narrow black longitudinal lines, and green rhinophores and gills tipped in purple. This is how it always presents to us - or so we thought. On this dive we found a plain specimen without the black stripes but with wrinkles or furrows instead. A search of our records revealed that we had found this colour form once previously - approx 12 months ago - also on the Brisbane. So far therefore - no stripes only on the Brisbane but with stripes everywhere else. Perhaps we will allow a few hundred more dives to pass before we attempt to draw any wild conclusions from these observations.
The second is with regard to Chromodoris splendida, a very common almost ubiquitous species here. All divers are familiar with its “strawberries and cream” appearance, with the red colouration in our region presenting as a single or group of large blotches on the dorsum. Over the past 7 years, of the many hundreds sighted we have only once found it without any of the red blotches. This was at Old Woman Island. Last week on the Brisbane we saw many of the usual sort but also two specimens without the red blotches. When first observed without these red blotches their appearance is a little disconcerting and one can’t at first establish what is wrong about it. Check the gills, check the rhinophores, and check the band on the edge of mantle and foot. All present and correct. Another oddity recorded.
Finding an oddity for the second time makes it less of a freak to be ignored and more of an acceptable, recordable variation.
18 November 2009
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VISIT FROM RESEARCHER
 The team at nudibranch.com.au were pleased to be joined last week by Dr Nerida Wilson from Scripps Institute of Oceanography, UCSD in California, who is visiting her native country to attend and present at the Molluscs 2009 conference in Brisbane next week.
Nerida is undertaking some broad molluscan research and was very interested to learn that we had been finding them at Bulwer, Moreton Island and at Woody Point, Redcliffe Peninsula. She joined us for a couple of sieving sessions at Woody Point and also for 2 long dives from aboard Mischief over at Bulwer last Saturday. In fact it was Nerida who happened to find for us our 405th species, the burrowing gymnodorid, Gymnodoris sp. 5, whilst sieving at Woody Point. (See news article below)
She filled us in a little on what is happening with molluscan research, answered all of our questions, serious and silly, and was otherwise excellent company. We are certainly wiser and more informed for the visit.
14 November 2009
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A BURROWING GYMNODORID!
 This unusual species of gymnodorid was found whilst sieving the dark and muddy silt on the intertidal flats at Woody Point. The water depth was approx 300 mm at low tide.
The general body shape is that of a typical gymnodoris; soft, elongate and tapering to a tail. The mantle is much reduced to a skirt around the anterior end. The body is transparent with the viscera clearly visible and is covered with numerous very fine red spots.
There are though three extraordinary attributes immediately apparent that mark this species apart from the typical gymnodorid:
- The gills are reduced to a single tapering and undivided translucent triangle which is immediately preceded by a slightly raised white ridge curving protectively in an arc.
- The rhinophores are fused and located in a pocket.
- Instead of crawling at speed around the container hunting for prey it spends its entire time going through contortions in attempts to burrow.
These physical features appear to be adaptations for burrowing and, together with its behaviour, point to an infaunal lifestyle. It obviously hunts for prey within the substrate.
12 November 2009
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THE DAILY TALLY
We are now publishing a species list of all the sea slugs found upon each dive trip. The digital camera with its huge memory capacity has made this possible as we can take a quick pic of each species found. Those pics may not win a prize for composition or exposure but they are a ready reference to corroborate our recollection of sightings after the trip.
If you click upon NUDIBRANCH CENTRAL BLOGGER (in the navigation barat the top left of each page) it will open up our blog page. Following each trip we will list here all the species found at that site on that date. There is even a facility there for you to post a comment which can include any questions you might have.
It is our intention, sometime in the near future, that this information about species, sites and dates will be entered into a database allowing us to generate statistics, for example: Where has a certain species been found? What is its frequency of occurrence? What species have been found at a particular site? Which species are seasonal?
The ultimate extension to that is the desire to make access to the database also available to readers allowing them to search for this information themselves from our site. But first all the ground work has to done to collect the data in the first place. At first we regretted that we had not done this from the beginning of our quest over 6 years ago which would have provide us with much more data, however we now believe that in the early days our hunting/observational skills left a lot to be desired. With these skills honed over that period we are now more likely to produce a more accurate daily tally of the opisthobranchs that are there to be found. (Slugs are where you find them.)
29 October 2009
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BUILDING CARICATURE
Mimicry in the animal and plant world is a most interesting area of study because it raises so many questions about relationships between quite diverse levels of life.
I can remember being told, when complaining about some one copying me or what I was doing, to not worry about it and that: imitation is the greatest form of flattery. Being very young at the time I considered these people to be a much lower form of life anyway.
In the Sea Slug world it probably has more to do with survival by appearance than anything else.
Zoologists talk about Batesian and Mullerian types of mimicry but we believe we have stumbled upon a 3rd type. We think we can demonstrate this 3rd type of relationship between some Sea Slugs and inanimate “objects” although these “objects” are far more famous for their animation.
 Look, for example, at this picture of a species of Atys. There is without doubt a definite similarity between it, when viewed from the anterior end, and a certain type of feline. Our research has pinpointed the feline in question to be without the shadow of a doubt as none other than 'Felix the Cat'. Note the extreme similarity with the ears of each, and don’t be put off by other unimportant anatomical differences.
We are calling this new type of relationship Cartoonian mimicry. We have not been able to establish definitively as yet just what either gains from this but further research will no doubt supply the answer. Early interpretations of our data lead us to believe that Felix gains the cute look which has made him so famous the world over whilst Atys can now claim some celebrity status even though leading the quiet infaunal lifestyle. Cartoonian mimicry requires a different mindset to comprehend fully. Whilst recognition is an important aspect it is not about survival but about fame. It’s not about deception but about adulation and entertainment! Yes, this opens up whole new fields of study for those with the perception and idle hours to fill, to lead the way.
As a mark of recognition we are conferring a common name upon this species. Until such time as it is formally described by taxonomists we are referring to it not only as Atys sp. 4 but also Felix the Atys.
(in gaudio absurdum)
16 September 2009
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Spurilla neapolitana
Spurilla neapolitana is a nudibranch species now showing a wide-range of distribution. It is now considered to be a tramp species in many parts of the world with the assistance of human activities most likely through the action of commercial shipping.
There is an excellent and elucidating article written by Richard Willan and published in the Malacological Society of Australasia’s Newsletter (No. 130 October 2006) from which the following excerpts and information are taken.
“Nudibranchs are especially good at hitching rides on ships’ hulls; one could describe them as long-distance back-packers. Their rapid life cycles, high reproductive output, physiological adaptability and opportunistic diets, have preadapted them to travel widely round the globe thanks to mankind’s sea voyages.”
“Spurilla neapolitana was first described in 1823 from Naples in southern Italy. Its spread around the world over the last 50 years has been truly meteoric, with records from the tropical western Atlantic, California, tropical eastern Pacific, Hawaii, Japan and Hong Kong.”
Our colleague, Denis Riek of Brunswick Heads, made the first Australian find in May of 2005 and it has been reported a number of times since from various localities along the New South Wales coast. This intertidal find at Caloundra is a new record for Queensland.
The sudden appearance of Spurilla neapolitana in many parts of the world has workers in this field confusing it with local species and even recording it as a new species.
The distinguishing characteristics, especially pronounced in the adult, are the lamellate rhinophores, the long and slender cerata coiled near the tip, and the white spots all over the body and cerata. The diet of Spurilla neapolitana is sea anemones, and a wide variety of sea anemones at that, with the type and colour of those consumed contributing to the background colour of the slug’s body, which can be brown, pink or red.
4 September 2009
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THE TOTAL SCORE
We at nudibranch.com.au have been reflecting upon the worth of our species lists.
We currently have two lists. One list that comprises all the species that Gary and David have found and recorded here, and another total list that additionally includes those species found and recorded by others within our area of survey. We have been placing pics of these additional species on a special page as “species for us yet to find”, but have not been including them in the actual Collection.
We are now of the opinion that it is time to just operate on the one total list and also to place all recorded species from the survey area into The Collection. Accordingly you will shortly notice a surge of new pages in The Collection as we work to achieve this aim. Naturally we will credit the pics to the photographers concerned.
This in no way diminishes our hunger to find and record these species for our own gratification but serves to recognize the efforts of others in this ongoing search to chronicle all of these wonderful creatures.
15 August 2009
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DEFINITELY NOT SHELL-LESS HOPEFULLY NOT CLUELESS
 Our efforts of late, focused mainly upon uncovering the Cephalaspidea (the head-shield slugs) also known as bubble shells, have been paying dividends as reflected in their growing number in our overall tally of species found. The cephalaspideans now represent more than 12% of our total species count.
These head-shield slugs introduce us to a whole new field of study that we are having to rapidly come to terms with, literally, and that is, the study of the molluscan shell. Because the members of many of the cephalaspidean families possess an external shell, which can be critical in their identification, it is important to be cognizant of the various features and the terminology related thereto. Most of these shells are simple in presentation but it is an understanding of the fine nuance of the common features that presents the greatest difficulty to the uninitiated.
We are finding that digital photography and the resulting ease of compositing of images is making the task of comparing these features much simpler. However it is knowing which of these differences are significant that is providing the greatest challenge to us.
The finding of a cephalaspidean shell, identified as a new species for our records, is exciting, but it also gives hope that in the near future our searching will turn up a living example of each to fill out the photo gallery and assist in detailing a better description and accurate identification.
We will keep scratching away looking for more species and answers.
12 July 2009
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A NEW RECORD FOR AUSTRALIA FROM BULWER
After several weeks of indifferent weather and other commitments we managed to enjoy a nice long dive again on the sea-grass banks at Bulwer on the north- western side of Moreton Island. The area is not densely covered and although somewhat patchy is shallow and undisturbed. The shallow 4 metre depth affords a long dive with plenty of light and is a little out of the main tidal stream.
By again applying the kitchen sieves persistently to their unconventional task, the sand and weed gave up some more of the secrets that they conceal so well. Our finds of note from last week-end include the following:
Philine cf. elegans – Richard Willan advises us that although it appears from external examination to be in every respect similar to P. elegans described by Bergh in 1905 there was no description of shell or gizzard plates given at that time to allow us a direct comparison. This species is very difficult to photograph successfully due to its continual contortions produced in an attempt to burrow under the sand whether there was sand present or not.
Cerberilla asamusiensis – A new record for Australia! We believe it may have been feeding on the tiny sand-dwelling anemones apparent in the area. Within an hour of collection it had produced a spirally coiled egg ribbon of an off-white colour.
There were innumerable Philine angasi present together with what we believe are their egg mass cocoons anchored to the substrate.
Live specimens of Atys sp. 1 and Austrocylichna sp. 1 were found again.
 Of interest, but not a member of the Opisthobranchia, was a tiny but beautifully marked species of the Neritidae – Smaragdia souverbiana (Moutrouzier, 1863) which Richard identified and informed us is commonly found on the sea-grasses.
Yet more still to be found here we think.
28 April 2009
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BONANZA AT BULWER
Seven new finds from the one dive!
While the weather Gods did not smile kindly upon us over Easter we did manage to slip in one day’s diving from our research vessel Mischief. On Good Friday we dived the shallow sea grass banks at Bulwer on the north-western shore of Moreton Island accompanied by Dr Richard Willan Senior Curator of Molluscs at the Northern Territory Museum in Darwin.
At Richard’s suggestion we raided the kitchen drawers and deaf to the protests by the user of these implements made off with all the sieves.
During an almost 2 hour dive in 4 m of water, apart from examining the sea grass habitat itself, we sieved the top layer of sand looking for Cephalaspideans, the head shield slugs, or their intact shell remnants.
While we were searching for any live creatures we could find, Gary decided to collect the residue from each scoop and shake, ending up with a plastic jar with 50 mm of grit in the bottom. Back on board Richard and Gary picked over this grit and Richard was able to identify for us the shells of 7 species of Opisthobranchs new to our cause.
Click on these links to see the results:
Shell comparison drawings
Size comparison photo
Apart from the shells, a group of 3 live Atys sp. 1 at 6 mm long were also scooped up. These animals and all shells are now part of the Darwin Museum Collection.
So we guess one man’s grit is another man’s treasure . . . if you know what to look for.
29 March 2009
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IT'S OUR BIRTHDAY!
nudibranch.com.au is 6 years old, 6 years in the making and evolving and still growing, still improving, still looking for more ways to bring awareness of these beautiful creatures to the world.
We didn’t in our wildest dreams believe that 358 species of Opisthobranchs would be found and documented in our Sunshine Coast survey area. We now speculate that there are many more to discover.
Our efforts to date include:
19 New Records for Australia
2 New Records for Eastern Australia
66 New Records for Southern Queensland
Gary Cobb kicked off the website back on March 29th 2003 as an adjunct to his “mission in life”: to find every single nudibranch on the Sunshine Coast. Perhaps that “mission” has become an obsession but it has been all those other people who are interested in these creatures who have benefited the most. The obsession has produced not only this website but the book “Undersea Jewels” by Gary Cobb and Richard Willan in July 2006 in which 277 species are described and illustrated by over 1000 photographs. We’ve certainly come a long way since Gary started sending in drawings of nudibranchs to The Sea Slug Forum back in 2002.
The mission has drawn in more people and every dive and intertidal excursion has turned into an “Easter egg hunt" where the excitement extends further than just finding new species but also finding specimens exhibiting their particular behavioural habits. A significant investment in equipment has facilitated the progress of the quest and opened up not only broader horizons and greener pastures but also microscopic worlds.
The website itself has gone through several refinements and major overhauls to make it user friendly including improved species listings, search engine, details of our methods and gear plus a news page. In a move to make the site interactive there is an “Identity Request” page and the Blogger. We have assisted, with a very fast turnaround, scores of people with species identifications from their submitted photos. And our Google rating has always been right at the top.
If you are a nudibranch lover then what better way to tell everyone and to celebrate our birthday than by writing to us for a couple of free stickers. (See the home page for details)
Keep visiting the site as still more improvements are planned for the following months that will make your identification hassles even easier to resolve!
7 January 2009
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 NO SHEEP IN THESE MEADOWS
Recent diving trips to Moreton Island and its reefs on our research vessel “Mischief” have seen us fill out the day exploring the shallow seagrass meadows just off Bulwer Beach inside the Bay.
On our very first ramble in these meadows the presence of the reclusive Philine angasi was betrayed by large numbers of egg sacs attached by a stalk to blades of the seagrass. Some gentle fanning and light raking of the sand caused them to tumble out of their infaunal habitat in large numbers. This burrowing lifestyle, clearly reflected in their wedge shaped muscular body, ensures that they are rarely seen or photographed in the wild. The bright outline of their gizzard plates used to crush and grind the shells of their prey is easily discernable through the white frosted translucent body.
Subsequent examinations of the same area have produced two species of Chelidonura, Chelidonura hirundinina and Chelidonura sp. 2, the latter a new addition to our records. Chelidonura sp. 2 presented with a dense population in the area we examined compared to the ephemeral distribution of Opisthobranchs that we usually observe.
The seagrass meadows, although themselves thriving in the tidal currents, through their presence provide a haven and protection from those currents for many small organisms and reduce turbidity by stabilizing the substrate.
We now can hardly wait to spend a couple of full days there on the hookah when the winds prevent us accessing the outside reefs.
7 November 2008
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 MISCHIEF OUT AT FLINDERS REEF
nudibranch.com.au visited Flinders Reef off Cape Moreton last Friday in perfect weather and in our new, purpose built, 9 metre power catamaran Mischief.
It was the perfect window of opportunity considering the weather before and after.
A 2 hour dive at the northern end of the leeward side of the reef yielded up 19 different species of Opisthobranch including one that has eluded us for quite some time, the ‘fugitive’ Glossodoris rufomarginata. This find takes the total count to 353 different species within our ongoing survey area. A second 50 minute dive towards the southern end only produced 3 species in total in stark contrast to our earlier dive.
Onboard, everything worked very well from the under deck scuba tank storage racks to the fold down kit up seats, the side entry door, the purpose built dive exit ladder and the freshwater shower on the swim platform. We are probably getting soft but 35 years of diving on all kinds of boats in all kinds of conditions must have taught us something.
Be assured that the whole Cape Moreton area will be getting a thorough Opisthobranch survey over the coming months.
(We will be posting some pics of Mischief in action in a later news article and updated Gear page)
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