Diving under our boat usually involves silty, low visibility water and occasionally something we haven't seen before. I found a single Anteaeolidiella chromosoma, a nudibranch I had never seen. Merry found a
Stiliger fuscovittatus, brown streaked sapsucker. We've also enjoyed a few unusual sightings, including mating Navanax inermis, fields of Gould's Bubble snails mating and laying eggs, and lots of tunicates we don't see elsewhere. Because of the low visibility, we only make dock dives when we have mechanical issues with the boat or need to look for leaks in our drysuits. Merry made such a dive yesterday.
After nearly an hour and a half under the boat, Merry surfaced beaming. This is not unusual. Merry often finds reasons to smile widely after a dive. She found a nudibranch that she has seen twice before but I have never seen, Okenia angelensis. This time, it was an even better sighting. She found more than a half dozen mating and laying eggs on a bryozoan. I rushed back home to get my camera and finished off her tank. We returned today to attempt to improve on our photos from yesterday. I didn't get any sharp photos in the silt but I thoroughly enjoyed the dives.
Okenia angelensis and their eggs
Antiopella barbarensis
Diaulula sandiegensis
Ectopleura sp., Solitary Pink-Mouth Hydroid
Hypsoblennius gentilis, bay blenny male
Stiliger fuscovittatus, brown streaked sapsucker. We've also enjoyed a few unusual sightings, including mating Navanax inermis, fields of Gould's Bubble snails mating and laying eggs, and lots of tunicates we don't see elsewhere. Because of the low visibility, we only make dock dives when we have mechanical issues with the boat or need to look for leaks in our drysuits. Merry made such a dive yesterday.
After nearly an hour and a half under the boat, Merry surfaced beaming. This is not unusual. Merry often finds reasons to smile widely after a dive. She found a nudibranch that she has seen twice before but I have never seen, Okenia angelensis. This time, it was an even better sighting. She found more than a half dozen mating and laying eggs on a bryozoan. I rushed back home to get my camera and finished off her tank. We returned today to attempt to improve on our photos from yesterday. I didn't get any sharp photos in the silt but I thoroughly enjoyed the dives.
Okenia angelensis and their eggs
Antiopella barbarensis
Diaulula sandiegensis
Ectopleura sp., Solitary Pink-Mouth Hydroid
Hypsoblennius gentilis, bay blenny male
