Help Identify Nudibranch species

[Reef Log]

Can anyone Identify this nudibranch species. We think it might be a Florida Regal Sea Godess Juvenile phase. But we are not sure.

Thanks

 

[Sully3]

its a blue ring sea hare.

nice find

 

[DevonDiver]

The nearest I could find on nudipixel.net was ...
Polycera atra

It comes in numerous variations...with differing amounts of yellow. However, tyour photos seems to display very uncharacteristic Rhinopores for a true nudibranch?

 

[Rick Murchison]

its a blue ring sea hare.

nice find

Thanks Sully...
It's a Blue Ring Sea Hare (Stylocheilus sp.)
nice find
Rick

 

[Reef Log]

Thanks for the responses. Yes indeed its a blue ring sea hare.
Amazingly I was diving on a 65ft reef in Islamorada Fl when at 65ft I came across thousands and thousands of these (yes you read that correctly). Documents say uncommon Caribean so you can imagine my amazement at this site. It was around ten in the morning and they were swarming over each other like bees in a hive obviously feeding. I shot the photo with a point and shot I quickly grabbed from a diver I was guiding. Not a good photo.

So that night I set up my rig with a 100mm macro and whent down again the next day. You guessed it they were all gone but a few. I spent 30 mins taking photos of just one as it rummaged around the reef and have attached an excellent macro shot here for all.

Now my mind is wondering where thay all whent? I could see that the first day I saw them they were going into and out of the reef structure itself so I am not sure if they are all hibernating in the reef out of sight! but you would think a few would be scattered about. Not so where I saw them in there thousands.

Obvousely some must have been eaten by other preditors but I cant see that all would have.

Does anyone have insight into thier behaviour, life span or mateing habits etc.


here is the link to my macro shot

Thanks