Gary and David on this excursion consisting of 1 x 71 minute and 1 x 70 minute dives in water depths from 15 m to 19 m. 5 m viz, 22 C water temp and no surge.
It’s a short trip out to the Inner Gneerings where Castle Rock is located. The visibility was very average so it took us little while to orient ourselves to the the topography as we recalled it, not having dived here since way back in September 2011. Finds worth mentioning include the rarely sighted Diversidoris sp. 1 and Hypselodoris sp. 4 plus the not-so-common Verconia laboutei.
Number of each species sighted: 1st dive/2nd dive
* Species with highest specimen count
Aegires gardineri 1/-
Ardeadoris sp. 2 -/1
Berthella martensi 1/-
Bornella anguilla 4/1
Ceratosoma tenue 1/-
Chelidonura inornata -/3
* Chromodoris elisabethina 3/8
Chromodoris kuiteri -/1
Chromodoris sp. 3 1/-
Chromodoris striatella 1/-
Chromodoris strigata 1/-
Diversidoris sp. 1 1/-
Doriprismatica atromarginata 5/4
Glossodoris rufomarginata -/1
Glossodoris vespa 2/1
Goniobranchus splendidus -/1
Goniodoridella savignyi -/1
Gymnodoris alba -/2
Hexabranchus sanguineus -/2
Hypselodoris jacksoni 2/-
Hypselodoris obscura 3/-
Hypselodoris sp. 4 1/-
Phyllidiella lizae -/1
Phyllidiella pustulosa 2/1
Thuridilla carlsoni 1/-
Thuridilla splendens 3/2
Verconia laboutei 1/-
Verconia simplex 1/-
Bornella anguilla
Hypselodoris jacksoni
Verconia laboutei
Thuridilla carlsoni
Chromodoris striatella
Hypselodoris sp. 4
Berthella martensi - sections of mantle
have been autotomized
Verconia simplex
Diversidoris sp. 1 - showing fish strike on
posterior edge of mantle margin
Surface conditions with whale entertainment
Gymnodoris alba
Chelidonura inornata
Chromodoris elisabethina - a slime
Ardeadoris sp. 2
Glossodoris vespa
Glossodoris rufomarginata - note brown
peppering on dorsum
Substrate
Doriprismatica atromarginata
Thuridilla splendens
Ceratosoma tenue
Chromodoris strigata
Chromodoris sp. 3
Aegires gardineri
Phyllidiella lizae
Chromodoris elisabethina
Bornella anguilla
Hypselodoris obscura
The topmost undercut
Chromodoris kuiteri
Hexabranchus sanguineus
Phyllidiella pustulosa
Goniodoridella savignyi
