Last weekend I went for a snorkel of Silver Steps at Pendennis Point in Falmouth. Visibility was bad because of the plankton bloom, but this also meant that I could admire the many small jellies floating about. Very hard to get a good shot of these though; might be worthwhile to collect some in a beaker and photograph them in my cuvet back on land next time. My eye was drawn to a giant Barrel jellyfish struggling against the rocks, but then I noticed something a lot cooler: the beautiful nudibranch Facelina auriculata. I was so eager to get in to the water that I had forgotten to put my weight belt on so it was a struggle to dive down and hold still for a macroshot, but this one is relatively sharp (if you want to see beautiful pictures of native nudibranchs I recommend joining the NE Atlantic Nudibranch facebook group). Also spotted the large and beautiful flatworm Prostheceraeus vittatus but did not manage to get a shot, will go back this weekend to try to find them both again!
Fabulous picture! Such amazing looking creatures, I can understand you want to get back there. Would you bring some home? I think they feed on anemones?
hey! this one feeds on hydroids. It would be cool to have a nano-tank with nudibranchs, but you would have to be able to regularly source their food, so sounds like a hassle. Maybe there are some that live on more common stuff such as estuary or breadcrumb sponges, I have no idea!
Super nudibranch!