COMMENTS & OBSERVATIONS

Braving the Boxing Day crowds (who are we kidding, this is Bowen off season), we headed down to Horseshoe Bay, scored an ideal carpark and geared up. We weren’t expecting great things in terms of visibility so we weren’t disappointed! We managed to find a few small Elysia on the way out, but as we headed further out and north the visibility became so bad we had trouble seeing each other, never mind the critters. We turned around and headed back into the bay where we had marginal viz. and managed to find some different tiny critters in the shallows. We did manage to find two new species for this site so that was a win and the best bit? – no phyllidiids!

Taxonomic data:
Four of the seven species sighted were nudibranchs, two being dorids comprising 0 x porostomes (suctorial feeders), 0 x phanerobranchs (non-retractile gill), 2 x cryptobranchs (retractable gill); and two cladobranchs comprising 1 x aeolid, 0 x arminids and 1 x dendronotinid.  A total of 12 specimens were sighted. Only two species are spongivores.

Historical Data:
– We have now completed 27 survey dives at Horseshoe Bay since our first survey here on 12/06/2018.
– We have recorded 67 species at this site.
– The species we record most often at this site are Gymnodoris sp. 35 (37% of dives), Samla bicolor (30%), Elysia sp. 30 (26% of dives) and Cratena simba (22% of dives).
– The most prevalent species we record here are Elysia sp. 30 (0.9 per dive), Elysia sp. 31 (0.9 per dive), Gymnodoris sp. 35 (0.7 per dive), and Samla bicolor (0.7 per dive).
– This is the first time we have recorded Goniobranchus fidelis or Verconia norba at this site.
– Our last survey at this site was on 7/12/2025.

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

TOTAL SPECIES SIGHTED: 7

DIVE IMAGES GALLERY

PUT CURSOR ON IMAGE FOR SPECIES NAME
CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE & SCROLL