Dendrodoris arborescens
Typical. I’ve been looking for nudibranchs for years. I finally gave up, as there were so many other species intriguing me that I didn’t have to hunt for.
I was at St Helens on the 17th when I stumbled across this species. I wasn’t sure whether it was a nudibranch at first as there is a lot of variation amongst the different types.
It turns out this species is Dendrodoris arborescens – also known as the ‘goth nudi.’ According to Nudibranchs and Related Molluscs:
Always a glossy, velvet-black colour, with a narrow carmine to deep-red marginal band on the mantle edge and the foot. Rhinophores black with white tips; gills black, widely spreading. Often seen crawling across open sand.
This one was crawling along the marine plants on the side of a floating pontoon.
Winged Thecacera
Seth found this Thecacera pennigera on the night where I was struggling post Covid. I had just sat down in the car for a bit off a rest when Seth shouted that he had found a nudibranch.
Part of me was incredibly stroppy. I wanted to make a nest in the back seat of that car until Seth was finished. But my curiosity got the better of me. I’m grateful it did, as it was so awesome to see up close.
(I get especially cranky when ill.)
According to the Nudibranch book:
Generally smaller than members of the genus Tambja, this species is white with spotting of orange, yellow and black all over. A large, curled, leaf-like sheath, open behind, protects each rhinophore, and there is a smooth papilla each side of the gills. Another conspicuous member of the fouling community, widely distributed with records from many parts of the world.
It’s interesting how many nudibranches are pest species. It also looks like I’ve underestimated how much we can learn from random boating areas.
I was more amused by how the colours were similar to my tortoiseshell cat, Kyo.
This marks the fifth nudibranch we’ve seen these year. Four were found by leaning over artificial structures; only one was found when swimming. It shows that you can find a variety of marine life without going in the water. I wouldn’t have realized that if not for all my limitations.
