Gary and David on this excursion consisting of 1 x 80 minute and 1 x 70 minute dives in water depths from 17 m to 20 m. 12 m viz, 26 C water temp and no surge.
Wonderful boating and diving conditions greeted us on this trip out to the Gneering Shoals. The species count is down quite a bit from our last trip out here. We were some little distance off the mark and we confined ourselves to two small ridges, also only half the team was there to search. There is a great deal of hard coral cover here. The stand out finds were Halgerda aurantiomaculata, Phyllidiopsis cardinalis and two new species, a small bubble shell we are calling Haminoea sp. 10 for now and Dermatobranchus sp. 10. There is no doubt that the bubble shell is a Haminoeidae species but there is some uncertainty amongst taxonomists as to just where it should be placed at the genus level. It has a long tail and small raised thimble-like tubercles around the posterior end of the mantle. Whatever the outcome they will be our 729th and 730th species from our survey area - the Sunshine Coast of Queensland.
Number of each species sighted: 1st dive/2nd dive
* Species with highest specimen count
Bulbaeolidia alba 1/-
Chromodoris elisabethina 5/2
Dermatobranchus oculus 1/-
Dermatobranchus rodmani 2/2
Dermatobranchus sp. 10 -/1 New species
Dermatobranchus tuberculatus -/2
* Doriprismatica atromarginata 5/6
Elysia sp. 11 1/-
Halgerda aurantiomaculata 1/-
Haminoea sp. 10 (??) 3/- New Species
Hypselodoris whitei 1/1
Hypselodoris zephyra -/1
Jorunna sp. 3 -/1
Mariaglaja inornata -/1
Mexichromis macropus 1/1
Mexichromis trilineata 3/1
Phyllidiella pustulosa 2/1
Phyllidiopsis burni -/1
Phyllidiopsis cardinalis 1/-
Phyllodesmium magnum -/1
Thorunna daniellae 2/-
Thuridilla carlsoni 1/-
Thuridilla splendens 3/1
Tornatina sp. 1 (shell) 1/-
Verconia simplex -/1
Surface conditions
A trio of Mexichromis trilineata
Phyllidiella pustulosa
Haminoea sp. 10 - New species
Haminoea sp. 10
Haminoea sp. 10
Chromodoris elisabethina
Phyllidiopsis cardinalis
Thorunna daniellae
Phyllidiopsis burni
Phyllodesmium magnum
Doriprismatica atromarginata
Mariaglaja inornata
Dermatobranchus rodmani
Verconia simplex
Substrate
Thuridilla carlsoni
Elysia sp. 11 - slipping through
the undergrowth
Mexichromis macropus
Halgerda aurantiomaculata
Mantle detail - Phyllidiopsis cardinalis
Tornatina sp. 1 - shell
Thuridilla splendens
Hypselodoris zephyra
Dermatobranchus sp. 10 - New species
Jorunna sp. 3
Dermatobranchus tuberculatus
Hypselodoris whitei
