The Scallop’s Eyes

The iridescent blue eyes of the Doughboy Scallop, (Mimachlamys asperrima), are little optical marvels. They are in fact more like tiny Schmidt telescopes than conventional eyeballs. The back surface of the scallop’s eye is like a mirror which reflects the incoming light back towards the lens opening. The light sensitive cells of the retina are […]

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The Giant Cuttlefish

Sepia apama, the Giant Cuttlefish, is the largest of the cuttlefish and a South Australian draw-card critter. Thousands of cuttlefish congregate to mate in the shallows at the top of Spencer Gulf each winter creating amazing opportunities for divers and snorkelers to observe their antics in only metres of water. This guy however lives out […]

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Wounded One

This poor guy is suffering war wounds of love as he and many other suitors battle it out for the available girls. There seems to be a lot of cuttlefish activity at the moment with both males and females engaging in all sorts of games. If you look closely here you will notice translucent lumps […]

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Picking Through The Grass

The Majid Spider Crab, (Leptomithrax gaimadii), is commonly seen critter in South Australian coastal waters. Equally at home in the sea grass, the rubble or on the jetty pylons, most of the time we see them as solitary scavengers or as mating pairs when the time is right. There is however a certain time of […]

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Blue-Ringed Denizen

The Blue-Ringed Octopus, Hapalochlaena maculosa, has one of the deadliest toxins of all sea creatures! Its venomous bite can easily kill a human despite its diminutive size of less than 12cm. Fortunately human deaths are very rare as long as effective treatment is close at hand. Edithburgh has a large population of these fascinating critters […]

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