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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Green Eyed Monster

Port Noarlunga has lots of small abalone and normally they are seen as flat shellfish firmly attached to rocks as if welded to them. Come out and night and those innocent pretend rocks turn into predatory marauding green eyed monsters fit to give children nightmares. Good thing we are larger the a couple centimeters or […]

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Dear Dumpling

Port Noarlunga delivers again, well sort of! I’d just repaired the strobe firing system on my housing and serviced all the port o-rings so I was pretty eager to get back in the water again. It was late and the air was cold clear and still. Perfect for a night dive. For those who have […]

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Mouths Agape

These little critters are Blue Throat Ascidians (Clavelina australis) and live in compound clusters. They look like a nest of little chicks of some bizarre bird with mouths agape chirping for food. Actually just like birds these critters are chordates and though they don’t really have a backbone they do have long nerve running the […]

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Gingerbread Man

Biscuit Stars, Tosia australis, come in all sorts of colour variations. This beautiful purple star under Rapid Bay Jetty reminded me of a gingerbread man with its striking orange internal markings. Sea stars are not perhaps the most exciting of undersea critters and are often overlooked by divers who miss out on their intricate beauty. […]

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