Special Elysia

I think John and I are the only two people uploading to the Magic Oceans slideshow.

We had our group shot taken on the boat.  I was worried that we would forget about it and not include some people who were leaving a little early.  I whispered in Gary's ear asking about when that might happen... and we did it right away there on the boat.  I'm doing my best to be a "Gary whisperer"...

I have an idea for a Nudi Spelling Bee.  My idea is to have a few of the experts get shown a nudibranch and then they have to name it and spell it correctly.  Since the experts are across the globe, we could do it on Zoom and as a fundraiser for nudi research.  Terry Gosliner would moderate... and people could vote for which expert they think will win by donating to the cause.

I also really would love to do a nudi fashion show at some point.  People could show off all of their nudibranch themed merchandise.  I mentioned it here at Magic Oceans to the manager Jamie to see if we could set up a runway... and Gary squashed the idea faster than I could get it out of my mouth.  I get that this is his trip, but new ideas might be fun and interesting.

Gary very excited about a shell of a veliger sea butterfly/sea angel he found on the afternoon dive.  I didn't think sea angels were nudis, but upon further research, pages 386 and 387 in NSSI2 talk about Pteropods.  OMG, I continue to learn new things.  I wonder if he will count it even though he just found the shell.

On another note, he wants to count the land slug we keep seeing.  Really?

There was a very special nudi on the night dive.  I ran out of bottom time because on air and JR brought the critter up to me in a shell so I could shoot it.

I started calling Caroline "Tiny Eyes" because she will just sit at a certain place for like five minutes and find the tiniest things. Then I was singing it to the tune "Private Eye" by Hall and Oates.  

At dinner, Gary wanted to buy my Glaucus atlanticus necklace from me.  He wouldn't give up and was willing to pay $600 for it.  I told him no way because I got it from my sisters who found it on eBay.  I told him I'd send him that link so he could buy his own.

Then he misremembered who found the Phyllidiopsis shireenae.  I found it, not Elisha... but he kept insisting it was her.  I think he was a few beers in...

More More More:

76 - Unknown

Posted to Nudibase

77 - Tenellia sibogae

78 - Elysia sp.

It may be E. pusilla, but people were talking about its fuzzy edge and maybe that is different.  

79 - Phyllidiopsis shireenae

80 - Phyllidia willani

81 - Chromodoris strigata

82 - Elysia sp.

From Cory Pittman on Nudibase:

Your animal has extraordinarily long rhinophores with a single prominent branch of the digestive gland running to their tips (with only a few short side branches). In contrast, mercieri has rhinophores that are longer than most Elysia spp but not that long. And, they have many complex branches of the digestive gland. Also, the brick-red spots are random rather than fused behind the head. And, the papillae are more prominent. That's based on images from i-nat and NSSI2. So, I could be wrong (some Elysia spp are "hyper-variable") but I probably wouldn't lump them...

It's most likely undescribed. There's no closer match in NSSI2...

Here are some other views of it: