Tag Archives: nudibranchs

A silver star for Christmas

Posted on Wednesday, 28 December 2011 by

Best Christmas present! This glaucus washed up by the heavy seas courtesy of the cyclone up north … Glaucus atlanticus, a nudibranch, floats on the surface of the ocean, along with other members of the “blue brigade“. It can wriggle … Continue reading →

Posted in The sea | Tagged , , , | 4 Comments

Two little beauties

Posted on Sunday, 30 October 2011 by

I used to work in the Marine Invertebrate section of the South Australian Museum, and the curator and his assistants (including me) would go on field trips to get specimens, especially for our marine tank. This was not on display … Continue reading →

Posted in Molluscs, The sea | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

High noon, low tide at the rock pools

Posted on Friday, 30 September 2011 by

Around spring equinox, the low tides are lower than usual. The sand deposited by winter storms is starting to be washed off the rocks, and there is now lots of life in the Flat Rock rock pools, although surprisingly few … Continue reading →

Posted in The sea | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

A couple of Lord Howe marine creatures

Posted on Tuesday, 14 June 2011 by

Since Lord Howe Island is surrounded by tropical waters, there are the usual goodies – tropical fish in and around beautiful coral reefs. I saw several lion fish (swimming serenely perhaps because of their poisonous spines – don’t touch!), turtles, … Continue reading →

Posted in The sea, Travels | Tagged , , , | 2 Comments

Yes, it’s a nudibranch!

Posted on Thursday, 9 June 2011 by

I’m used to thinking of nudibranchs as small (except for Spanish dancers), brightly coloured, soft creatures. Here’s one that breaks the mould. One of our US visitors, Mike from Alaska, found this creature in a shallow pool on the rock … Continue reading →

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A sauntering sea hare and a tiny nudibranch

Posted on Tuesday, 3 May 2011 by

Yesterday I saw this very charming sea hare, Dolabrifera brazieri, moseying across a shallow pond and grazing on algae, again at Flat Rock, near Ballina, northern New South Wales. It’s about 9 cm when stretched out. Sea hares are molluscs … Continue reading →

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A gloomy day, full of life

Posted on Monday, 18 April 2011 by

Perhaps the heavily overcast conditions on Saturday fooled the critters at Flat Rock into thinking that it was dusk and wake-up time, but I have rarely seen so much life in the rock pools in one session. For starters, we … Continue reading →

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Nudibranchs – enough said?

Posted on Saturday, 26 March 2011 by

I don’t scuba dive any more, but every now and then I am in the right place at the right time to see a nudibranch in a rock pool. These little creatures are molluscs, but ones that lose their shells … Continue reading →

Posted in The sea, Travels | Tagged , , , | 3 Comments