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| The Spanish Dancer Photo by Basil Bohn |
Awesome and strange sea creatures consistently populate the
TRACC artificial reefs, but sometimes we get especially lucky. This week we
spotted a Spanish dancer nudibranch on the algae crusted “swim through “ of the
house reef. This domed structure crafted from bent PVC pipes and covered with
netting is popular with a variety of fantastic sea creatures including octopus,
many many types of tropical fish, and tiny crabs and shrimps hiding between the
netting and crevices in the cement and topsy-turvy bottle reefs, among many other creatures both resident and visitor. Yet, news of this giant
nudibranch, roughly measured at 40 cm, created waves through camp, with divers
running to gear up and see it for themselves.
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| Peng with the Spanish Dancer Photo by Basil Bohn |
The Spanish Dancer is the largest of the nudibranch family
and gleams its namesake from its resemblance to traditional flamenco dancers.
Its bright red, orange, and yellow coloration are reminiscent of the costumes
of the traditional Spanish costume. When threatened, it swims through the ocean,
twisting, flaring, and undulating its wide ruffled red and orange underside in
imitation of the flamenco dance. As an added touch, these twirling sea slugs
are simultaneous hermaphrodites. They can not self fertilize and do require a
mate in order to lay eggs, but once they mate, they lay their toxic and
brightly colored eggs in an outwardly spiraling ribbon around the coral,
creating a rose shaped offering to the reef and further fulfilling their namesake.
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| The Underside of the Spanish Dancer Photo by Basil Bohn |
This sighting was a special experience for us all, including
many of our instructors and Divemaster’s who have logged hundreds of dives.
After the sighting and the combined hours spent observing this rare creature, the
atmosphere at camp was filled with a communal feeling of the privilege and
excitement of seeing such a rare creature. The feeling was intensified through
sighting this Spanish Dancer on a TRACC built structure, providing the added
satisfaction of seeing the conservation work TRACC has completed being
populated and utilized by the ocean creatures we all love and strive to
protect.
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If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org
The main website is at http://tracc.org
Check out our posts on our activities
on fb tracc.borneo
on twitter tracc_borneo
on google + tracc
--------------------------------------------------------------
If you want to help with any marine conservation activity, please check our website or e-mail info@tracc-borneo.org
The main website is at http://tracc.org
Check out our posts on our activities
on fb tracc.borneo
on twitter tracc_borneo
on google + tracc