Sund Rock Nudibranchs today

Fish & Invertebrate sightings and descriptions, hosted by resident NWDC ID expert Janna Nichols (nwscubamom).
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dphershman
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Sund Rock Nudibranchs today

Post by dphershman »

My buddy Mark and I went to Sund Rock this morning. Viz went from bad to mediocre to fairly good at 40-50 feet, with a very warm surface layer of water at about 67 degrees, dropping to 53 at depth.

This summer seems to be an especially good season for Flabellina trophina, we saw huge numbers of them today along the north wall.

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there were also quite a lot of Sandalwood Dorids, Acanthodoris lutea along both North and South Walls. A number of them were paired off in the 'trailing' behavior that this and other Acanthodoris seem to 'enjoy' doing.

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I frequently see A. lutea here at Sund Rock and nowhere else. They are one of my favorite nudibranchs, with their pointy rhinophores and gold-flecked bodies.

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today was also a good day for finding large Dendronotus iris, especially on the south wall. One of these guys was as large as a cat.

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There were a number of wolfies, but no octos today. We haven't seen many octos at any dive location in south sound for awhile. :(

Dan
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YellowEye
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Re: Sund Rock Nudibranchs today

Post by YellowEye »

Very cool! I don't think I've ever seen an A. lutea.

Good to hear about the Dendronotus iris.
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Re: Sund Rock Nudibranchs today

Post by H20doctor »

Good stuff .. what lens are you using ?
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Tom Nic
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Re: Sund Rock Nudibranchs today

Post by Tom Nic »

YellowEye wrote:Very cool! I don't think I've ever seen an A. lutea.
I see these guys at Sund or in Hood Canal most often. Perhaps they stand out there against the background? Once you "see" them there are a good number of them.

Glad we're having another Flabellina bloom! Lots of fun to take a gazillion pictures of while seeking that perfect shot!
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ScubaJess
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Re: Sund Rock Nudibranchs today

Post by ScubaJess »

Super cool! I love how sparkly they are :)
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