This is the view a Nudibranch would see of Gary getting ready to photograph it. Learn more>
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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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:
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)
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