COMMENTS & OBSERVATIONS

The conditions offshore have not been conducive to pleasant diving of late (wind & swell), so we decided to dive the Mooloolah River, mainly to give our new camera rigs another workout. The tidal differential was not large so we opted for the toilet block entry. The visibility was up to 1.5m (2m if you call seeing a blur of hazy colour on your buddy’s equipment visibility). The usual subjects were there: Flabellina lotos, Goniobranchus daphne, Goniodoridella sp. 01 and Hypselodoris obscura. Plocamopherus ceylonicus, Thordisa albomacula and Tenellia sp. 47 were uncommon additions and gratifying to record.

Taxonomic Diversity:
13 of the 17 species sighted were dorids comprising 5 x cryptobranchs (contract gill into a pocket) and 8 x phanerobranchs (unable to retract gill) with the remaining 4 being aeolids.

Our Historical data:
– 81 surveys conducted at this site since the first on 22/03/2014.
– Last surveyed 24/07/2021
–  227 species recorded by us at this site.
– Our most commonly recorded species at this site are: Hypselodoris obscura (89%), Goniodoridella sp. 1 (85%), Pteraeolidia semperi (81%), and  Goniobranchus daphne (77%).
– Gymnodoris sp. 28 is a new sighting for us on the Sunshine Coast.
– Our sightings of Pteraeolidia semperi at this site peak in April, so sightings could be expected to increase over the coming months.
– Three of the species recorded on this survey, Plocamopherus ceylonicus, Tenellia sp. 47 and Thordisa albomacula, have only been sighted once previously at this site.

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

TOTAL SPECIES SIGHTED: 17

DIVE IMAGES GALLERY

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