Wakatobi: Nudibranch & Flatworm Super Assortment
ktuli — Wed, 02/23/2011 - 21:07
As I said before, one of my favorite critters from Wakatobi were the nudibranchs and flatworms.
In rough terms, they both fall under what most people would call sea slugs. The main difference between the two are that nudibranchs have antennae called rhinophores and most have external gills, whereas flatworms do not have the rhinophores (though some like the Tiger Flatworm and Linda's Flatworm below adjust their head shape to fake them) nor any external gills.
Regardless, they're cool little things... take a look (mouseover the thumbnail for the larger view)
Sky Blue Phyllidia (Phyllidia coelestis) |
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Willan's Chromodoris (Chromodoris willani) |
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Elisabeth's Chromodoris (Chromdoris elisabethina) |
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Racing Stripe Flatworm (Pseudoceros bifurcus) |
In reality, these are pretty tame looking nudibranchs, so I'm looking forward to another trip back to find more! I think if my count is correct, I photographed thirty-five different individuals (in nineteen dives!) consisting of four different species of flatworms and fifteen different species of nudibranchs.
So cool!
- Bill
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