COMMENTS & OBSERVATIONS

This looks like the last of the nice weather for a while so I took the opportunity for another dive at Horseshoe Bay in the hope that I would find more species than on my last dive. The town of Bowen is still busy with grey nomads and others so a fairly early start was needed to ensure that a carpark could be found and there were plenty available when I arrived. Conditions in the water were great. A few more critters were found than on my last dive, but numbers still seem down a little than on our usual outings at this site.

Taxonomic data:
All three of the sighted species were dorid nudibranchs, comprising 0 x phanerobranch (non-retractile gill), 1 x porostome (suctorial feeders  of the Phyllidiidae family), 2 x cryptobranch (retractable gill). A total of 3 specimens were recorded.

Historical Data:
– We have now completed 21 survey dives at this site since our first survey here on 12/06/2018.
– We have recorded 46 species at this site.
– We did not record any species on this survey that we have not recorded here previously.
– The species we record most often at this site are Gymnodoris citrina (52% of dives), Elysia sp. 30 (29%), Samla bicolor (24%), and Jorunna funebris (19%). None of these species were sighted on this survey.
– The most prevalent species we record here are Gymnodoris citrina (1 per dive), Elysia sp. 30 (0.9 per dive), Samla bicolor (0.6 per dive), and Bulbaeolidia alba (0.5 per dive).
– Our last survey at this site was on 28/08/2025.

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

TOTAL SPECIES SIGHTED: 3

DIVE IMAGES GALLERY

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