Who has a Fuzzy Bottom?

The Cheng Ho doesn’t have a watermaker, so today we had to tie up at the dock to other boats and fill up with water.  A huge rat got on board somehow… we saw it run up to the bow of the boat as we were getting ready for a dive in the harbor.  It really freaked me out and for at least 24 hours I was still wondering if it was still on the boat somewhere.  Ew!

Jayne’s husband Bob invited me to a trip they are doing in February, but I already have a trip planned to Bonaire.  But I asked them where they plan to go early 2014… and they said they didn’t know if they’d be alive then.  What!?!?!  Old people humor.  Ha!  They are in better shape than I am!  I think Graham has something cooking for early 2014.  J

The night dive was at a place called Fuzzy Bottom.  It was awesome.  There were critters everywhere!  We came up telling Graham that we love his “Fuzzy Bottom”!

 

Slug Slimedown:

174 - Mexichromis mariei

175 - Hypselodoris infucata

176 - Goniodoris joubini

Laying eggs

177 - Pectenodoris trilineata

178 - Tritonia sp. 2

Surreal.

179 - Hypselodoris bullockii

180 - Gymnodoris rubropapulosa

181 - Caloria sp. 4

182 - Phyllidiella granulata

183 - Discodoris boholensis

The margin on this guy makes him look like a flatworm, but look closely, there are rhinophores.

184 - Halgerda paliensis

Someone showed me this one and I could really figure out what I was looking at.  I kep thinking that the gills might be the whole nudi so I was taking close up shots of it.  It was only after I looked at the photos I saw the whole animal.  Whoops!

185 - Dendrodoris nigra

Fetal pig?

186 - Discodoris lilacina

187 - Cuthona sp. 17

I found my Point B!

It’s my three year anniversary of working at Point B.  A company who is not only totally fine with me taking time off to travel half way around the world to go SCUBA diving, they encourage it and talk about it in the Company newsletter.  What better way to celebrate than with an underwater photo in my “I found my Point B” t-shirt?

 

Today Graham found a Phyllodesmium macphersonae again.  He worked so hard to get it ready for its photo shoot… but when I got a good look at it, I didn’t really see the color pattern I was expecting so I questioned that it was really the macphersonae and only took a couple of shots.  Whoops, it totally was and it even had a red parasite on it!  Oh well, I at least have one halfway decent shot of the nudibranch with my last name on it!

Nudis by the numbers:

159 - Lamanotis sp. 1

See the frilly stuff behind it?  It is laying eggs.  Oh, and that yellowish wooden thing in the background?  That's one of the skewers marking an interesting slug.

160 - Elysia sp. 17

161 - Armina sp.

162 - Cuthona sp. 14

These two are laying eggs (that white dotted stuff).

163 - Noalda sp. 1

164 - Trapania armilla

165 - Chromodoris hintuanensis

166 - Berghia sp. 3

Look closely, there are three orange ones on the right having a party.  On the left are two circles of eggs they left behind.  All of this camoflauged on an orange sponge.  Awesome!!!

167 - Risbecia tryoni

Some people call this a pizza nudi since it looks like a Pepperoni Pizza.

168 - Philinopsis sp.

169 - Glossidoris rufomarginata

170 - Phyllodesmium macphersonae

In the book, this looks a bit more blue.  Look closely, there's a red parasite in the cerata.

171 - Lobiger viridis

Lobigers are pretty rare.  Cool!

172 - Marionia sp. 10

I love me a good pink n green combo.  Preppy nudi?

173 - Cuthona sp. 36

Crab Girl

On the shore of this dive site there are wild cows, horses and colts.  There was one house that I want to move into right above the reef.  Awesome.  The view of the volcano is breathtaking as well. 

Today Graham pointed out that my laptop’s keyboard is filthy.  He’s right!  My only excuse is that it’s a white computer so it shows dirt really easily… but gross!  It just goes to show you that you never see what’s right in front of you.

On one of the dives today, Graham found me and frantically motioned for me to come over.  He kept pointing to me and then told me to swim over with him.  When we got to the area he looked hard but couldn’t find it any more.  It turns out that he found a Phyllodesmium macphersonae!!!  But it disappeared after other divers photographed it.  Bummer.

On the night dive I made the mistake of taking a picture of a crab and Graham caught me.  Underwater he gave me the finger wag, and then at dinner he kept calling me “Crab Girl” instead of “Nudi Girl”.  Uh oh, I better shape up or I won’t be invited back on another trip.

I busted out some music later in the evening… just “Copacabana” and “Sexy and I Know It” but everyone HATED having music playing while they worked on their photos.  This is certainly a very mellow crowd.

The slug slate:

127 - Gymnodoris sp. 1

This is a rearing behavior where it uses its rhinophores as chemoreceptors to find food or a mate.

128 - Chromodoris cf. alderi

It looks like you can see into the holes where its rhinophores go in.

129 - Flabellina expotata

Flabby

130 - Glossodoris hikuerensis

So close to the cinta.

131 - Hypselodoris krakatoa

Like stars dotting the margin.

132 - Nembrotha sp.

Teensy.

133 - Jorunna rubescens

People often call this "the rat".

134 - Favorinus sp. 1

135 - Chromodoris strigata

136 - Halgerda batangas

Two laying eggs.

137 - Siphopteron sp.

Itsy bitsy teeny weeny yellow polka dot nudi.

138 - Cuthona sp.

139 - Hypselodoris zephyra

140 - Cuthona sp. 3

141 - Costasiella sp.

Often found on a leaf.

142 - Gastropteron bicornutum

143 - Syphonota geographica

This guy looks like a lemondrop.

144 - Pleurobranchus grandis

If you touch a pleurobranch, it is threatened and it sheds one of its plates.  So don't do it!

145 - Lomanotus sp.

146 - Cuthona sp. (white body orange rhinophores with blue nipples)

147 - Halgerda stricklandi

Close to the batangas.

148 - Phestilla cf sp. 2

cf just means closest to.  So this is closest to the unidentified species 2 of Phestilla.

149 - Thuridilla undula

150 - Trapania aurata (Bernard Picton later let me know that this is a Trapania gibbera because of the brown line across the front)

151 - Cuthona sibogae

152 - Aplysia sp.

153 - Hypselodoris emma

154 - Pleurobranchus peronii

155 - Hexabranchus sanguineus

This is a juvenile Spanish Dancer.  When they are adults they turn mostly red and when disturbed travel through the water column in movements like a Spanish Dancer.

156 - Doto ussi

Super grapey cool. 

157 - Marionia elongoreticula

158 - Doris immonda

Looks like something took a bite out of this guy!