COMMENTS & OBSERVATIONS

Finally the crowds have abated and the winds have dropped off again. We headed back to Horseshoe Bay to cover the area around the northern headland. Visibility was reasonable and although there was a slight surge, it was only a bother in the shallower water where we found the Elysia making it difficult to photograph this tiny critter. We headed to deeper water (4-5m) and stayed at that depth for most of the dive.

Sea slugs were once again few and far between but we did manage to double our tally from 2 days ago. Scrounging around in the rubble we found Pelagella joubini  which is a new find for us in this region.   Even though we tend to bypass much of the coral, the reef looks really healthy with lots of hard and soft corals and an assortment of fish.

Taxonomic Diversity:
Three of the four sighted species were nudibranchs, with all 3 being dorids comprising 2 x phanerobranchs (non-retractile gill), 0 x porostome (suctorial feeders  of the Phyllidiidae family), 1 x cryptobranch (retractable gill) and 0 x cladobranchs comprising 0 x aeolid, 0 x arminid and 0 x dendronotinids. 1 x sacoglossan (sap-sucking slugs) completes the species count. A total of 5 specimens were recorded.

Our Historical data:
– We have now completed 16 survey dives at this site since our first on 12/06/2018.
– We have recorded 42 species here at this site.
– Three of the species recorded on this survey, Gymnodoris citrina, Elysia sp. 30, and Jorunna funebris are among those we record most frequently (63%, 38%, and 25% of our surveys respectively). We did not see the other among the top 4 we find here (Samla bicolor – 31%) on this survey.
– Although none of the species we record on surveys at this site could be considered overly abundant, Gymnodoris citrina is the most abundant species recorded (1.3 per dive ) followed closely by Elysia sp. 30 (1.2 per dive).- Our data is limited, but there does not appear to be any seasonal variation in either the number or organisms sighted or the species sighted.
– This is the first occasion on which we have recorded Pelagella joubini in the Whitsundays. The specimen we found on this occasion has slightly lighter coloured rhinophores than that we have seen on the Sunshine Coast and that shown in NSSI(2): p. 48 as Goniodoris joubini, but is similar in all other visible characteristics.
– Our last survey at this site was on 20/04/2025.

Guide to Symbols:
+++ New Species
+ First time sighted in Whitsundays
# Most commonly sighted at this site with %

TOTAL SPECIES SIGHTED: 4

DIVE IMAGES GALLERY

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