COMMENTS & OBSERVATIONS

We decided to try for Horseshoe Bay again as the winds have remained predominately N/NW. The patches of sludge that we have been observing were absent today so we decided to go for it. There was a small swell rolling in which created some surge in the shallows (we have become wimps in regards to surge considering what we dived in on the Sunshine Coast, but to be honest the critters are also a LOT smaller making them harder to photograph).

Unfortunately, the visibility was very ordinary even in the shallows, but as we kept finding minuscule critters, we persisted with the dive. As we headed East we ended up on the reef and amongst the coral so we detoured to the North around the rocks (we think they were there, you could not see them). We continued to find critters with the Gymnodoris sp. 32 being the largest and the Niparaya  sp.’ s the smallest. We found several new species for this site, a couple of new ones for us in the Whitsundays and a new undescribed Niparaya. Somehow we managed to find a shorter route back and were surprised to find ourselves back on the sand sooner than expected.

Taxonomic data:
Eight of the eleven species sighted were nudibranchs, three being dorids comprising 0 x porostomes (suctorial feeders), 2 x phanerobranch (non-retractile gill), 1 x cryptobranch (retractable gill); and five cladobranchs comprising 4 x aeolid, 0 x arminids and 1 x dendronotinid. Three headshield slugs (Aglajidae) complete the count. A total of 25 specimens were sighted.

Historical Data:
– We have now completed 25 survey dives at this site since our first survey here on 12/06/2018.
– We have recorded 63 species at this site.
– The species we record most often at this site are Gymnodoris sp. 35 (40% of dives), Samla bicolor (28%), Elysia sp. 30 (24%), and Cratena simba (20%).
– The most prevalent species we record here are Elysia sp. 31 (1 per dive), Gymnodoris sp. 35 (0.8 per dive), Elysia sp. 30 (0.8 per dive), and Cratena simba (0.6 per dive).
– This is the first occasion on which we have recorded Niparaya sp. 12 on any of our dives.
– This is the first occasion on which we have recorded Baeolidia variabilis*, Goniobranchus preciosus, Gymnodoris sp. 32 or Niparaya regiscorona in the Whitsundays.
–  This is the first occasion on which we have recorded Baeolidia sp. 01* at this site.
–  Our last survey at this site was on 29/10/2025.

* We had previously recorded our first sighting in the Whitsundays of Baeolidia variabilis at a survey at Grays Bay on 12/11/23, but a review of our photos revealed this to be Baeolidia sp. 01, which we therefore wrongly recorded as being sighted first on 16/11/25.

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

TOTAL SPECIES SIGHTED: 11

DIVE IMAGES GALLERY

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