Most sea slugs do not have common names and the fact that we call them nudibranchs is a nice way to divorce ourselves from the idea of their not so pretty, slimy green garden cousins.
If this little critter had a common name it might be the Splendid Nudibranch but in the literature it is just known as Goniobranchus splendidus.
This species of nudibranch was the very first I saw dropping beneath the water on our Fly Point night dive at Nelson Bay. We saw many of them in the first 2-4m of water so it seems in this location they like the shallows more than deeper water.
It’s always exciting meeting a new critter on a dive but at the same time there is a sense of detachment not knowing anything about it, not even its name. For me creating an image and then later taking the time to learn a little more about its name, its habitat and its behaviours is just as rewarding as the dive itself.
Thank you Splendid One for posing for me and teaching me a little more about your world.
Photo: Robert Rath, ‘The Splendid One’, 1/100s f/22 ISO400 100mm
To me it looked like a decorated meringue cupcake! Amazing!
The bright colours are meant to advertise ‘I’m poisonous, don’t eat me or else’. Good thin we don’t do that with cupcakes!