Elysia sp.(undescribed)

The small Elysia above was found on a double pinnacle in the middle of a channel which is swept by exceptionally strong & unpredictable currents making diving there a special rarity. Lindsay found it moving over a mat of red filamentous algae at a depth of 24.5 m.

Its body is translucent white generously sprinkled with bright white speckles throughout its length & including its rhinophores. Amongst the white dots are a few olive green patches seemingly placed in a line down the parapodia as well as beneath the surface between and behind the eyespots. The two black eyespots are located one on either side just behind the rhinophores and to the outer side of the body in a small area devoid of white speckles. A short pericardial hump can be seen between the anterior sections of the parapodia.

According to sacoglossan expert Kathe Jensen, this species has also been photographed in other areas.

As regulars to the Slug Site will already know from seeing her previous contributions, Lindsay's fascination with all things aquatic began as a small child and this has carried on throughout her life. However, it was only when at university that she discovered that diving was not just the prerogative of the elite. Beginning in 1974 with her first OW dive in 1975 near Marseilles, France, she noted in her logbook finding a nudibranch but had no idea what it was at the time. However many years later she was happily able to identify it.

On the photographic front, the only reason she ever took it up was purely to document what she saw when diving. She started with a second-hand Nikonos II, then a Nikonos III and later progressed to a Nikon F3 in an Aquatica housing. However, she became an accomplished photographer of land & air wildlife as well as human life events, capturing special moments. And yet still her first love remains with molluscs.

Having dived in many areas of the world including the UK, the Mediterranean, (Spain, France, Corsica), Red Sea (Israel & Egypt), Bahamas, USA (Florida, California, Hawaii), St Lucia, Montserrat, South Africa, Madagascar, Brazil, Fiji, Tonga, French Polynesia, the Tukang Besi Archipelago (SE Sulawesi, Indonesia), Lindsay now spends most of her time in Indonesia diving in places such as Bali, Alor, Lembeh as well as Sangeang, Komodo, Flores, Sumbawa, but also in the species rich Philippines.