Species List: La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, 25-09-2015

11 species sighted at La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

Julie and David on this single shore entry evening dive of 114 minutes. Maximum depth 6.7 m, 21 C water temperature and 4 m viz.

We entered the water at last light and almost full tide and worked into the remaining current as the deepening gloom was lit by the cones of our dive lights. The Doto and Lomanotus have formed breeding colonies on the hydroids which are covered in spawn. Unidentia angelvaldesi continues to dominate the species count. The pair of large Phyllodesmium opalescens out foraging were an excellent find. They are usually hard to photograph when buried deep in the substrate growth.

Number of species sighted
* Species with highest specimen count

Doto sp. 3  -3
Eubranchus sp. 10  -1
Flabellina rubrolineata  -3
Gymnodoris sp. 9   -2
Lomanotus sp. 2  -1
Lomanotus sp. 4  -3
Phidiana bourailli  -2
Phyllodesmium opalescens  -2
Trinchesia cf. yamasui  -3
Trinchesia yamasui  -7
* Unidentia angelvaldesi  -32+

Phyllodesmium opalescens out foraging

Unidentia angelvaldesi

Trinchesia cf. yamasui and Trinchesia yamasui

Eubranchus sp. 10

Lomanotus sp. 4

Lomanotus sp. 2

Doto sp. 3 in situ with eggs

Doto sp. 3

Phidiana bourailli in situ

Phidiana bourailli

Flabellina rubrolineata

Species List: La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, 19-09-2015

11 species sighted at La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

Julie, Terry and David on this single shore entry dive of 115 minutes. Maximum depth 6.0 m, 21 C water temperature and 1-2 m viz.

The visibility on this dive was a disappointment with a heavy silt load obstructing not only our search of the substrate but even a decent view of our camera viewfinders. This may be partly due to a change in our approach to the way we dive in the river tidal current. Most usually we work into the tide and thereby any disturbance of the silt is carried away behind us but this time in order to search a different stretch of the river we were obliged to work with the current and suffered by taking the silt disturbance along with us, a situation that only deteriorated further as the current slowed. Lesson re-learnt. The Doto was a nice find being first spotted through the presence of its egg mass.

Number of species sighted
* Species with highest specimen count

Atys sp. 6   -1
Bulbaeolidia alba   -1
Doto sp. 3   -5
Elysia cf. furvacauda   -1
Goniodoridella savignyi   -1
Goniodoridella sp. 1   -1
Gymnodoris sp. 9   -7
Gymnodoris sp. 10   -1
Trinchesia sp. 24   -2
Trinchesia yamasui   -1
* Unidentia angelvaldesi   -33+

Elysia cf. furvacauda

Doto sp. 3

Unidentia angelvaldesi

Bulbaeolidia alba

Trinchesia yamasui

Goniodoridella savignyi 

Trinchesia sp. 24

Gymnodoris sp. 9

Goniodoridella sp. 1 

Species List: La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, 17-09-2015

14 species sighted at La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

Julie, Terry and David on this single shore entry dive of 138 minutes. Maximum depth 6.0 m, 21 C water temperature and 4 m viz.

River dives are just unpredictable. One has to share the confined water space with people casting from the shore, crabbers dropping nets, all manner of water craft - large, small, slow, fast, curious boaties motoring over to check out what the float with the funny flag is, kilometres of old and new fishing line, clouds of silt from dive buddies, stone fish waiting for a careless hand placement, the list goes on. However the rewards just keep turning up as well. This time it was a new species to our list - Siphopteron quadrispinosum, a tiny beautiful bubble shell trying to rebury itself in the silt. What a stunner and no less stunning was the rarely sighted Okenia liklik.

Number of species sighted
* Species with highest specimen count

Atys sp. 6   -1
Elysia cf. furvacauda   -2
Elysia sp. 11  -1
Gymnodoris alba    -1
Gymnodoris sp. 1   -3
Gymnodoris sp. 9   -4
Gymnodoris nigricolor   -1
Goniodoridella savignyi   -2
Goniodoridella sp. 1  -1
Hypselodoris obscura   -1
Okenia liklik   -1
Phyllodesmium opalescens   -2
Siphopteron quadrispinosum   -1 (New species)
* Unidentia angelvaldesi   -35

Surface conditions

Hypselodoris obscura

Unidentia angelvaldesi

Substrate

Elysia sp. 11 

Okenia liklik

Siphopteron quadrispinosum

Siphopteron quadrispinosum - in situ

Gymnodoris sp. 1

Phyllodesmium opalescens

Gymnodoris nigricolor

Atys sp. 6 

Gymnodoris sp. 9

Goniodoridella savignyi 

Elysia cf. furvacauda

Species List: La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland,13-09-2015

9 species sighted at La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

Julie, Terry and David on this single shore entry night dive of 114 minutes. Maximum depth 6.0 m, 20 C water temperature and 3 m viz.

A couple of new finds for the river habitat were sighted. One of these, Sclerodoris sp. 9 is also a new addition to our Sunshine Coast list. The Dendrodoris denisoni is obviously well fed measuring 130 mm. Even though we were diving later than our previous nighttime immersions there were still no pleurobranchs or bubble shells to be seen.

Number of species sighted
* Species with highest specimen count

Chelidonura fulvipunctata   -1
Dendrodoris denisoni   -1
Eubranchus sp. 13   -5
Lomanotus sp. 2   -1
Myja longicornis   -1
Sakuraeolis nungunoides   -3
Sclerodoris sp. 9   -1 (New species)
Trinchesia cf. yamasui   -9
* Unidentia angelvaldesi   -18

 Unidentia angelvaldesi

Trinchesia cf. yamasui hanging down 

on the hydroids like bats

Sclerodoris sp. 9

Dendrodoris denisoni

Sakuraeolis nungunoides

Lomanotus sp. 2

Sakuraeolis nungunoides with 

Myja longicornis sitting behind

Species List: La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland, 11-09-2015

11 species sighted at La Balsa Park, Mooloolah River, Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, Queensland.

Terry and David on this single shore entry night dive of 106 minutes. Maximum depth 6.3 m, 20 C water temperature and 3 m viz. Julie provided welcome surface support.

We undertook the night dive in the expectation of finding some of the nocturnal slugs that emerge from the sand at night. A sweep of the sandy bottom revealed not a one so we concentrated upon the hydroids growing on the rocky outcrops which have made a remarkable come back since the flushing. All of the species listed below are confirmed hydroid eaters except for Phyllodesmiun opalescens whose diet is presently unknown but may prey on the soft octocorals like most of the members of its genus.

Number of species sighted
* Species with highest specimen count

Eubranchus sp. 10  -1
Eubranchus sp. 13  -7+
Facelina sp. 3  -4
Lomanotus sp. 2  -2
Lomanotus sp. 3  -1
Lomanotus sp. 4  -2
Myja longicornis  -2
Phyllodesmium opalescens  -1
Sakuraeolis nungunoides  -3
Trinchesia sibogae  -1
* Unidentia angelvaldesi  -27+

Phyllodesmium opalescens

Sakuraeolis nungunoides

Trinchesia sibogae

Unidentia angelvaldesi

Facelina sp. 3

Eubranchus sp. 10

Lomanotus sp. 2 

Lomanotus sp. 4 

Eubranchus sp. 13

Myja longicornis