Quinn

Branching Anemone Lebrunia danae pg 41 Reef Creature Identification Book, 3rd Edition, Florida, Bahamas, Caribbean. We see this some what frequently diving Grand Cayman as well.

Hi, Being one of the co authors of the Cayman Nudibranch Book, I can offer up some hints which hopefully will give you some what better odds than a just crapshoot.:) Cor and Tursiops hit the main ones. Forget the guided boat dives! You need to move very slow stopping frequently to really look. Ideally shore diving works the best. Most of what you see photographed in the book was found in the 15-60ft depth range, with the highest concentration being in the shallower depth. Boat dives are going to be too deep for you to spend adequate time looking. Hopefully you have a like minded buddy. If I'm looking for them during the day, then I'm focusing on grasses, rubble, debris,( Tritoniopsis frydis love to congregate on dead sea rods) hydroids, and algae. Its pretty amazing what all is hiding a top the hard pan at Turtle Reef that divers never see on their rush to get to the mini or main wall. Look for egg coils on algae clumps( light fanning above the algae reveals more) usually a tell tale sign nudis are lurking .Don't forget to think small, and smaller. Those Nudibranchs in the Caribbean don't begin to compare in size to their Indo Pacific cousins, but it makes finding the little buggars even more special. At night, its all about the sponges, all varieties. That is where you will find the greatest concentration of nudibranchs out feeding. Each variety has their preferred dinner of choice. Trapania dalva seem to like Brown Bowl Sponges, Tritonia Bayeri Sea rods, etc, They'll be on the algae as well, and at night as opposed to being buried deep within a clump they are most likely riding on the top edge of a leaf. If I was focusing a trip around finding them, I would plan on doing as many night dives as I could, multiples in one evening. Start just after dark, do one, get your SIT in and do another after the crowds have gone home.:) Be patient. They are there. If you know where and how to look. Familiarize yourself with their dietary habits and look to their food source. If you decide on Cayman, and have other questions feel free to message me. Happy Hunting! Cindy

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PM sent THX Quinn

Hi, I have been to the resort several times in the past, never with a large group and have never felt slighted by the fact. Komung/Komang? has guided me on two of those stays, and I was very pleased with his efforts . What I did for the staff, was arrange with the resort manager to offer a pig roast which we all greatly enjoyed. Have recommended the resort to others through the years, and none were disappointed!! Have a great adventure!! Cindy. Ps.. I like diving with Mike as well.

It's a Solenogastre. Found one twice here on Grand Cayman some years ago that looks very similar to yours! Found mine in relatively shallow waters,45' or so. I was told at the time, that they were generally found at far deeper depths. Great find!! Cindy

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Ellen is a very dedicated underwater naturalist and skilled photographer! I've contacted her several times over the years for confirmation of sightings I have enjoyed. I haven't been to Bonaire in years, but spend considerable time in Grand Cayman seeking out macro life, including nudibranchs with decent success. It's not the location or site you want to focus on, but the habitat and their food source. That being said, I look for them on sponges, hydroids, algae, rubble and debris in depths of 15 to 65 ft, also time of day matters. Where during the day, I might focus my search in algae, dead fans, debris and rubble, diving at night, sponges and hydroids can yield significant finds. Move slow, don't be rushed and get out the magnifying glass! Most of what you find, is significantly smaller than those in Indonesia, with the Elysia Crispata( Lettuce leaf sea slug) being one of the largest, down to those in the Doto family being grain of rice size. I helped friends some years ago self publish a Nudibranch identification book for Grand Cayman. Although not Bonaire, believe it gives one a good idea of what the Caribbean has to offer .We've tried to include habitat and time of day when possible. The book is still available on Amazon, Cayman Nudibranchs, if you care to check it out. I might add that we need to do some updating, as since then, the three of us have added nearly 20 different ones to the discoveries. Best of luck and please report back! Cindy

Looks to be possibly a variety of Spoon Worm, Bonellia Sp. Similar to what we find on occasion here in the Caribbean in the same type habitat, although the ones we find are generally green in color.

Hi, This looks very similar to a solengastre I photographed in the waters off Grand Cayman, BWI initially 5 years ago. It created a stir among experts at the time, as Know one had seen the likes of this particular one before. Photographed at nearly the same depth, I photographed another, or the same, in the same area last year. The difference between the two appears to be that some of the white areas on mine are raised into tiny ping pong ball extensions. I understand that experts are eager to have a specimen collected. Unfortunately, in order for me to do so, a special permit would be required, and there is no telling if I'd ever find one again. Sweet find!! Cindy

I was quite sure I recognized your critter but wanted to confirm it with Ben @ Coralreeffish.com. He agreed, Blackbelly Blenny. Sorry I 'm not aware of the Latin/ scientific name. I found one once many years ago, in the shallows of Grand Cayman. Very tiny,perhaps 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. moving between the algae clumps on the hard pan at either Cobalt Coast or Turtle Reef..Tough to photograph, I got less than decent head on shot, but enough for someone at Reef to identify at the time. Havent seen one since, and I've been looking!! Have never known any one else to find one either..Great find!!

Fixed, sorry bout that!!

Proceraea janetae http://www.cgillsphotos.com/Underwater/Cayman-Winter-2013/i-vSj3Sqp/0/L/PolychaeteWorm_unidentified_IMG_6220-Edit-Edit-L.jpg A newly described species, originally discovered quite by accident. A dream come true for me, It was truly a global effort bringing this little marine polychaete worm to everyone's attention. Aided by good friends , Drs. Essi Evans and Everett Turner, of Toronto Canada, researchers Drs. J Gil and D.Martin in Spain, and A. Nygren of Sweden, and lastly Tim Austin of the Cayman Islands DOE, it has been a very long and educational, three year process. The formal paper is available for purchase from the Journal of the Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom here http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=9377083 It as been listed in the World register of Marine Species here http://www.marinespecies.org/aphia.php?p=taxdetails&id=819851 And lastly, but by no means least , you can read a far less formal description of it's discovery, in a newly released book, authored by Everett, Essi and myself entitled, Cayman Has Worms, a photographic collection of marine worms found by the three of us diving Grand Cayman. Available from Amazon or https://www.createspace.com/4905627 As far as my choice of names, it was named in honor of my aunt, Janet Kaufman of Louisville, Kentucky, in the year of her 90th birthday, for helping to instill a sense of discovery, and exploration in me. As a team we are all anxious to know where else this worm might be found, so please keep your eyes open, and feel free to contact us with your photos and findings. Many thanks for indulging me in tooting my horn.. Cindy

Hi Alex, Yes some type of polychaete, When we collected the shrimp that habitates along with these, ( http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=44462) we included a worm or two as well. Last we heard from Leslie, quite some time ago, it was still under investigation. all the best Cindy

Seeing and photographing this shrimp for a couple years in waters around Grand Cayman, and not finding anyone to put a name to it, friends and myself enlisted help, got a collection permit , and went to work. here is an article my friend Dr. Everett Turner wrote regarding the hunt, for UWP 52. The Great White Footed Shrimp Expedition By Everett M. Turner Jr "Our great white-footed shrimp expedition was a quest to identify a small-unknown shrimp. My wife, Essi Evans and I have been avid fish and critter watchers (and photographers) since we started diving in 1987. One of our favorite dive destinations is Grand Cayman. That is where this story begins. In February of 2009 we were diving Sea Fan Reef, the house reef at Cobalt Coast Dive Resort on Grand Cayman’s North Wall. It is a great shore dive with plenty of fish and lots of creatures, common and uncommon; enough to keep a photographer busy for a 2-hour shore dive. While poking around near the top of the mini-wall we noticed a brown sponge with a number of little -excruciatingly small, actually- whitefooted shrimp sitting in the out pour openings. I took a few photos and later that evening we began our quest to identify these critters. Having no luck, the next day I described them to any one who would listen. No one had ever seen or heard of them until I mentioned them to our friend Cindy (Cynthia Abgarian). She had seen and photographed them in the past but had also had no luck in identifying them. She was very keen to know what they were. We soon moved on to other subjects and other finds and then we were back in Canada and back to work, the shrimp mostly forgotten. In June of 2009 we were once again diving in Cayman and again we found the shrimp in the same brown sponge. The shrimp were not too shy but appeared to dislike the bright light. They were more active and more out of the outpour opening when there was cloud cover or later in the afternoon. What you cannot tell from the photo is how small these shrimp really are. They are about the size of carpenter ants. They also seem to be constantly associated with even smaller white sponge worms. More pictures were taken but still no identification was made. Upon return to Ontario, I decided to send my shrimp photos to Les Wilk of ReefNet, publisher of the DVD Reef Fish Identification Florida, Caribbean Bahamas. Les has often identified other fish and critters for me. Les reported back that he had seen other photos of this shrimp but that he did not know the identification/classification. He forwarded the photos on to Dr. SammyDe Grave of the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Oxford, U.K. Sammy wrote back: “It is either an undescribed or non-colour recorded species of Periclimenes/ Cuapetes. People have promised me specimens before, but none have materialised. Without an actual specimen I cannot really be sure which, as about 4-5 species in that genus in the Carib still have no colour documentation.” This was now getting exciting, the possibility of an undescribed species and perhaps a chance to name it! I contacted our friend and diving buddy, Dora Valdez, manager at Cobalt Coast Resort and asked her about the possibility of collecting specimens. Having previously shown Dora the white-footed shrimp, she was very keen to help. She contacted Nancy Easterbrook, owner of Divetech dive operation at Cobalt Coast Resort with whom we have been diving for the last 9 years, to ask for her assistance in contacting the Department of the Environment (DOE) on Grand Cayman. In short order we had a contact, Mr. Timothy Austin of the DOE. Sammy agreed to contact him and provide the necessary information and credentials to obtain a permit to collect specimens of our little white-footed shrimp. While waiting for the permit, Dora- also an avid photographer, set out to get some more pictures of the shrimp. She enlisted Simon Dixon, friend, fellow photographer, dive instructor at Divetech and marine biologist in her quest. They found more sites with the white-footed shrimp. In addition to Sea Fan Reef, they found them at Lighthouse Reef, Sand Hole, School House Reef, and a number of other sites with shore and boat access. The shrimp appeared to be always in the same type of sponge, likely the Touch-Me-Not Sponge. The Permit arrived very quickly, with very specific details in regards to who was allowed to collect, how many shrimp could be collected and when and where they could be collected. And thus began our expedition. The members were Essi, Cindy, Dora, Simon and I. The permit was valid for September 1 to November 1. We were allowed 6 specimens and they had to be collected outside of marine zones. Collection took place in October. Sammy sent us detailed instructions on collecting, handling, processing and mailing the specimens. Dora and Simon did some preliminary scouting prior to Cindy, Essi and me arriving on island. As we met to discuss our little shrimp hunt expedition, we soon realized that Sammy’s directions for collecting the shrimp (shoeing them into a collection bottle) were not going to work, as the shrimp seemed to stay within the sponges’ outpour openings. Cindy provided the capture means, straws from Panera Bread and a 20cc syringe. Simon and Cindy were the collectors. Our first attempt was successful and convinced us all, but especially Simon, that the sponge was indeed the Touch-Me-Not Sponge. Simon had decided to forgo the syringe and just sucked up the shrimp through the straw, not an easy task at 25 feet of seawater. This worked well and we got a nice specimen; however, Simon ended up with quite a burning sensation in his mouth and on his lips and tongue The rest of the collections were uneventful with the syringe and straw. We processed the specimens according to instructions and Dora sent them on their way to Oxford. We talked of our success in collecting the white-footed shrimp and discussed what we might name it if it were a new specimen as we all anxiously waited for word from Sammy. We were all back home when word arrived. Sammy wrote: “Unfortunately for me, white foot is not a new species. Sadly it is one of those species for which the colour pattern has not been documented fully. They are Periclimenes harringtoni Lebour 1949 (Pontoniinae), still quite an exciting find though. The species is only known from two locations in the scientific literature: Bermuda (type locality, single specimen, reported by Lebour 1949) and Tortugas (4 specimens, reported by Holthuis, 1951). Interestingly it seems to have taken another 50+ years before found again (your find). As far as I know no colour photos of this beats [beast, sic] have ever been published, Holthuis (1951) does give a short colour description, which sort of matches, but omits the white hands on the chelae. Anyway, it is that species for certain, the morphology matches the descriptions perfectly.” ”There may well be specimens in museums, which have not been reported upon, but the Smithsonian does not appear to have any.” And so our little expedition to find and identify a hopefully new species of shrimp ended, or so we thought. It turns out that along with the white-footed shrimp we had collected a few of the sponge worms. Sammy sent these along with the photos of the worms we had taken (actually shrimp photos inadvertently showing the worms) to Leslie H. Harris, Collection Manager, LACM-Allan Hancock Foundation Polychaete Collection, Natural History Museum of Los Angles County, and Los Angles California. She is of the opinion that the worms are an undescribed species and confirmation of this is pending. So check your photos carefully, you never know!" Probably more than you ever wanted to know.. Merry Christmas Quinn.. aka Cindy