Apollo Bay

We were only able to have a quick visit to the rockpools behind Apollo Bay harbour on this trip. I’d read that other people had found multiple nudibranchs here and was keen to finally find one.

We did find a sea slug but, alas, it wasn’t a nudibranch. I quickly surmised that it was a sea hare. I guessed that it was Aplysia Parvula, based on similar specimens I had seen before. I wasn’t experienced enough to be sure of that identification.

I was about to put it online when I saw someone comment on different photos of a sea hare. In that post, the person mentioned that there had been a recent paper regarding Aplysia parvula. Many specimens that had previously been identified as A. Parvula were actually Aplysia concava. They linked to the official paper detailing the species revision. According to that paper, the presence of a highly concave shell is diagnostic.

Cue my overwhelm! I wasn’t experienced enough to know whether a shell was concave or not. These photos were mostly from the one angle so didn’t really help. I put it both on Facebook and iNaturalist.

Facebook didn’t yield any results, but iNaturalist did. I’m often skeptical about iNaturalist and question a lot of the identifications. In this case, however, one ID was made by Matt Nimbs. The author of the aforementioned paper.

Case closed! I’m still overwhelmed, but at least I have a definitive ID and know what to look for in the future. I love marine science. 🙂

[Read more…] about Aplysia Concava Found Behind Apollo Bay Harbour

Pirates Cove has always been a favourite for finding interesting marine life. We visited there at low tide, which was the same time as sunset.

At first I was distracted by the beautiful scenery. Then I discovered sea squirts.

Mum and I have found sea squirts washed up at Eastern Beach in Geelong previously. It was suggested that they could be Pyura dalbyi. As part of those conversations, Pyura stolonifera was mentioned. Pyura stolonifera, also known as Cunjevoi, is a type of sea squirt that can often form mats over rocks at low tide. You can read more about them at the Australian Museum website.

This didn’t gel with my experience of seasquirts, which I saw either attached to objects or washed up along the beach. Then I saw the ones here.

Now it makes sense! Was awesome to see 🙂

[Read more…] about Pirates Cove Marine Life: January 2022

[Read more…] about Pirates Cove Sunset: January 2022

It was the final day in Apollo Bay. I went for a quick walk around Paradise Picnic Ground before we headed home.

The picnic ground itself was packed! I’ve never seen it that busy before. I don’t know if it was due to Covid restrictions, or whether the word had gotten out somehow. It seemed that everyone knew about our secret place.

The walk itself was lovely. Trees had fallen over the path, but I was able to climb over them. I did notice that it looked like a table had been removed in the picnic area closest to the river.

A lovely walk at any time of the year. Just wish it was better maintained!

[Read more…] about Paradise Picnic Ground: January 2022

These photos were taken at night.

[Read more…] about European Shore Crabs Laying Eggs In Apollo Bay Harbour