Marine

Last year I found a decorator worm at Eastern Beach. I became enamored them and went back to find more of them…. only to not find any. I was so stroppy.

I was exploring around the promenade with my nephew and we were standing directly under the swimming enclosure. It was after the low tide mark so the water was coming in. I wasn’t having much luck with ascidians… but then I saw this.

The water was only 1-2 cm above the tube. However, the worm was coming up. Repeatedly! I put my camera above the tube and also looked for other tubes to try and find worms.

I had some luck. Unfortunately, an easily distracted teenager was with me and wanted to move on.

It is fascinating to see their behaviour up close and I’m looking forward to learning more about them.

Two Species of Sea Centipedes At Eastern Beach

These sea centipede photos were taken at Eastern Beach in Geelong. We found them under rocks shortly past the swimming enclosure.

The photos were taken in June 2021. I wasn’t able to identify them until 2023. This was due to lack of experience, and difficulty finding beginner-friendly resources.

Most of the descriptions here are taken directly from Some intertidal Isopods of Victoria. I’ve chosen not to paraphrase as this blog is primarily to help me learn (and remember.)

Paridotea ungulata

Paridotea Ungula is a green coloured ispod. The tip of pleotelson (or what I call the bum) is a shallow ‘U–shape’ with a point on each side of the ‘U’.

It does look similar to Paridotea munda. They are usually 1cm smaller and can be a brown or green colour. The pleotelson is similarly shaped, but has has sofly rounded tips.

Euidotea peronii

These guys are hard to identify because of the poor quality photos. Some are a bit blurry and the lighting is bad. This trip was one of the reasons I ended up buying the TG6, because I really wanted to get better views of the key features.

I’m fairly certain the above photo is Euidotea peronii. This is because the antennae are tapering and becoming narrow. I can clearly see that in the below photo, although I’m not certain about the others.

Another key feature is that the Coxal plates nearest to abdomen are angled posteriorly; not rounded like those of E. bakeri. I’m so grateful for the Isopod guide at this point. I want high fives. I have learned so much in the past couple of years without knowing it! I’m keen to get back into the field and find more of them.