Tambja mullineri

Image courtesy of Kevin Lee
Galapagos Islands


Image courtesy of Kevin Lee

Tambja mullineri Farmer, 1978

If I really want to find lots of species of sea slugs, the Galapagos Islands would not be my first choice. That said, Ali Hermosillo and Kevin Lee did pretty darn good on their recent trip, documenting 32 species.

One of the prettiest living there is Tambja mullineri. Incidentally this not so common species is an endemic - found only there. The trivial name recognizes friend and malacologist, David K. Mulliner , of San Diego, California (1921-2007).

Its body is typically phanerobranch, rhinophores and gill are not retractile. The body is smooth. The head has a pair of short and wide oral tentacles. The body color is dark blue with turquoise-blue longitudinal stripes. The rhinophores are dark blue to black with turquoise-blue lamellae.

For more of Kevin's great photos from the trip, go to -Kevin's Photos Galapagos .

Dave Behrens
Sammamish, WA 98074
Mar. 2020
Send Dave email at davidwbehrens@gmail.com


Kevin Lee and Ali Hermosillo McKowen
Dive Site Isabella,Galapagos Islands
Photo courtesy of Phil Garner

Kevin certainly needs no introduction to the Southern California Dive Community! On an international level you may have encountered Kevin as he certainly gets around on a life time quest to photograph the many treasures of the undersea world.

Based in Fullerton, California, Kevin Lee's adventure gene has taken him to over forty countries. After learning to scuba dive, in 2002, he embraced underwater photography as a way of sharing the ocean's wonders with non-divers. Though aesthetics is important in his photography, Kevin also strives to capture unique perspectives that are of interest to marine biologists and other scientists who study ocean creatures and their anatomy/phylogeny.

Though Kevin photographs all marine life that fits in his macro lens, opisthobranchs are his favorite subject. He has photographed and collected invertebrate specimens, with proper permitting, all around the world for scientific research. These pursuits have taken him scuba diving in all Seven Continents, including Antarctica where water temperatures were 29F (-2C).

Kevin's work can be seen in the Leatherby Libraries, Chapman University, Orange, California, where his opisthobranch images are on permanent display. Other works have been exhibited at the Branford House, University of Connecticut; Scripps Institution of Oceanography; Monterey Bay Aquarium; Aquarium of the Pacific, Long Beach; City of Los Angeles (ELC); and other venues. And of course, Kevin continues to contribute marine images for numerous magazines, newspapers, academic literature and many dive related publications.

To view more of Kevin's photography, visit diverkevin.com

Send Kevin email at diverkevin@gmail.com



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