COMMENTS & OBSERVATIONS

Getting a little lazy in the winter and launching at sunrise instead of dawn. Another Sunshine Coast Sea Slug Survey of Mudjimba Island dive sites was on the agenda. The trip up to the island in Li’l Mischief encountered some surface chop but once in behind the island it flattened out and just got better and better as the day progressed. This dive site, called Elsewhere, lies between The Wall and Bornella Reef sites on the southern side of the island in 12 m of water. A great cross-section of sea slug types was recorded. Glossodoris sp. 05 is a not-so-common find. It was interesting to record the two lookalikes Verconia simplex and Verconia decussata, at the same site. The number of specimens of Goniobranchus splendidus and Hypselodoris jacksoni on the first dive was impressive. The gullies and ledges were explored on the first dive and the much flatter area with some small bommies on the second.

Taxonomic Diversity:
Twenty of the twenty-four sighted species were nudibranchs, with 16 being dorids comprising 1 x phanerobranch (non-retractile gill), 2 x porostomes (suctorial feeders  of the Phyllidiidae family), 13 x cryptobranchs (retractable gill – all belonging to the Chromodorididae family) and 4 x cladobranch comprising 3 x aeolids, 0 x arminid and 1 x dendronotinid. A single head-shield slug, a single pleurobranch, a single sacoglossan and a single umbraculid complete the species count. If diet is considered then 18 of the 24 species sighted are spongivores.

Our Historical Data:
– This excursion brings the number of survey dives to 16 at this site since we commenced fully recording data here on 25/10/2011. We have surveyed this site sporadically since the first survey (4 in 2011, 2 in 2017, 8 in 2019 and these two surveys in 2023) so it is difficult to draw any conclusions regarding any trends.
– 97 species have been recorded at this site.
– This is the first time Eubranchus sp. 03, Glossodoris sp. 05, Samla bicolor or Verconia decussata has been recorded here.
– The most regularly recorded species at this site are: Goniobranchus splendidus (100%), Thuridilla cf. splendens (94%), Doriprismatica atromarginata (88%) Phyllidiella pustulosa (75%).
– The dramatic increase in the number of Goniobranchus splendidus recorded at this site is shown in the line graph below in the image gallery. Similar trends have been observed at some of the other Mudjimba Island sites surveyed recently.
– This site last surveyed on 28/11/2019.
(Historical data courtesy of Terry Farr, who extracts it from his comprehensive database.)

Key to symbols
+++ New Species
+ First time sighted at this site
# Most commonly sighted at this site with %

TOTAL SPECIES SIGHTED: 24

DIVE IMAGES GALLERY

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