The ugly duckling of nudibranchs and other dock-dwellers

Please register or login

Welcome to ScubaBoard, the world's largest scuba diving community. Registration is not required to read the forums, but we encourage you to join. Joining has its benefits and enables you to participate in the discussions.

Benefits of registering include

  • Ability to post and comment on topics and discussions.
  • A Free photo gallery to share your dive photos with the world.
  • You can make this box go away

Joining is quick and easy. Log in or Register now!

Merry

Contributor
Messages
335
Reaction score
864
Location
Torrance, California
# of dives
1000 - 2499
Perhaps it's because Phil and I depend on marine life for lively adventures, that I get such a kick out of discovering what lives in the small area under our boat. Although there is some seasonality with the appearance of species that live in such a sheltered habitat, I find that encounters are generally unpredictable. Here's an example:

While making a dive to test my drysuit, I found tiny (~3mm) Okenia angelensis, mating and laying eggs on clumps of bryozoan. Also in this series, one Okenia attempts to mate with another one that doesn’t happen to be interested, ultimately leaving the potential partner hanging.


Okenia%20on%20bryozoan%20DSC_6886-L.jpg



Okenia%20angelensis%20DSC_6874%20%282%29-L.jpg



Okenia%20angelensis%20mating2%20DSC_6924-L.jpg



Okenia%20angelensis%20two%20DSC_7002-L.jpg



Okenia%20angelensis%20not%20mating%20DSC_7005-L.jpg



Okenia%20angelensis%20not%20mating%20DSC_7011-L.jpg



Okenia%20angelensis%20on%20bryozoan%20DSC_6859-L.jpg



Okenia%20angelensis%20eggs%20DSC_6892-L.jpg



Okenia%20angelensis%20eggs%20DSC_6870-L.jpg


It was nice to find even ONE Mexican skirt dancer flatworm, Pseudoceros mexicanus, but the SECOND one I found unexpectedly took to the water column.

Pseudoceros%20mexicanus%20DSC_6942-L.jpg



Pseudoceros%20mexicanus%20DSC_6959-L.jpg



Pseudoceros%20mexicanus2%20DSC_6968-L.jpg



Happily, the little male bay blenny is still at home in a scallop shell.
Bay%20blenny%20DSC_6821-L.jpg



Bay%20blenny%20DSC_6986-L.jpg



A strikingly robust southern kelp crab – its carapace is covered with the shells of spirorbid worms.
Southern%20kelp%20crab%20DSC_6978-L.jpg



Southern%20kelp%20crab%20DSC_6981-L.jpg
 
You guys are amazing. Thank you.
 
Your adventures under your boat remind me of when I used to do night dives in the marina opposite where I lived in Jeddah 20 odd years ago.

I'm very tempted to dive under the boats in the marina where I go out from next Friday just to see what's there.
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/peregrine/

Back
Top Bottom