Category: Sea Monsters
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When the visibility gets tough, the tough find nudibranchs
San Diego Nudibranchs A swell that has been plaguing the San Diego coastline with rough surf (seemingly forever…) finally subsided late last week, just in time for our scheduled Easter Sunday boat dive. Visibility was severely compromised, though, as a result of the extended period of rough ocean conditions. The water was green and murky……
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The California Kelp Forest
My diving career so far has been rich with travel. I have dove all over the tropical blue waters of the Caribbean and the untouched oceans of Fiji. I’ve seen the exotic Antarctic sea creatures that migrate north to the temperate waters of Sydney, Australia, swam with the seals in the Isles of Shoals off…
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Nudibranchs: The Sea Lemon
Anisodoris nobilis, or the noble dorid nudibranch, is also known as the sea lemon. This name is not only attributable to its yellow color, but apparently also to a citrusy smell it can give off when it is handled. Unlike many tinier nudibranchs, the sea lemon can reach up to around five inches in length.…
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Nudibranchs: Dendronotus albus
Here’s yet another nudibranch that lives in the southern California waters, Dendronotus albus. As usual, this one is very tiny–only about an inch long.
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Nudibranchs: Hermissenda crassicornis
Another cool nudibranch in southern California is the opalescent sea slug: Hermissenda crassicornis. I think the small one might be a Flabellina pricei but I’m not 100% certain.
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Nudibranchs: Spanish Shawl Nudibranch
After more than a month out of the water, and two months out of the cold California water, I finally got to go diving again! We spent the weekend on the Horizon dive boat diving San Clemente Island and the kelp beds of Point Loma, San Diego. I saw lots of sea lions and a…
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Diving the California Oil Rigs, Part 2
(See Diving the California Oil Rigs, Part 1 here.) This is the Spanish Shawl, a nudibranch (type of sea slug) common to Southern California. It’s tiny, only about one or two inches long. The orange appendages on its back are called cerata, which assist both in respiration and in digestion. They also store the stinging…