Nudibranch sex - not for minors

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Puffer Fish

Captain Happy
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Last year I happen across an event that happens once a year, for roughly 2 minutes. In talking with a nudibranch expert, it seems that the details of this event are, well, not exactly known.

The species is the Florida Regal sea Goddess, the location off of Destin Florida

It starts each year with them getting together in a big clump around May each year

This was taken a couple of years earlier:

nudi_ball_1.JPG
 
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On the particular dive, I saw a clump and as I was swimming over, the clump broke up and pairs of Nudibrach headed off in different directions.. I say pairs, but there was a lead one and one following.

About 5 -7 ft from the ball location, the lead one of the pair I was following stopped, the back one joined it:

Nudi_pairing_1.JPG


As you can see, this is a very public place.
 
They sort of, well, hugged each other and somehow produced a off white mass:

nudi_pairing_2.JPG
 
The lump got passed between them.. with first one having it and then the other:

nudi_pairing_3.JPG


Note: Something bad happened as this image was being taken, as there was a cloud of something in the water between them.
 
When each one had the lump, they sort of kneaded it (the left side one has it underneath right now).

nudi_pairing_4.JPG
 
Now the right one has it:

nudi_pairing_5.JPG
 
At around 2 minutes of this fun, one of them takes the lump and heads out.. the other stays put, and rested (the one with the lump is in the background).

nudi_pairing_6.JPG
 
I got distracted by a nearby batfish, and was not paying attention, until I saw the one with the lump doing something with it at a hole... I switched the camera back to macro, and moved the strobes back in, but it had already pushed the lump up under the lip of the hole it found:

nudi_pairing_7.JPG


It then backed out and went on its way.
 
an event that happens once a year, for roughly 2 minutes.
I tried to tell those crazy kids this is what happens when you get married, but would they listen? Nooooo....


To the best of my knowledge, this process has not been photographed before.

That's awesome. Did you turn your shots into any of the experts on this for reference?
 
https://www.shearwater.com/products/teric/

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