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Hypselodoris picta
Image courtesy of Carol and Bob CoxTom Maher Reef, Mexico Beach, FL in 95 ft. of water
Olympus C5050 in an Ikelite housing with one DS-125 strobe.
Copyright 2011, Carol Cox
Hypselodoris picta (Schultz, 1836)
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One of the most delightful species in the Caribbean. Referred to in Floridian waters as "Florida's Regal Doris", this species reaches 130 mm in length. Its body is a deep dark blue-black, with randomly arranged yellow lines and spots. The rachis of the gill has a yellow line. Because of its wide color variation and the fact it is found in both the east and west coasts of the Atlantic, a number of subspecies have been described. Common throughout the western Atlantic, Florida to Brazil. In the Mediterranean it feeds on the encrusting sponge Dysidea fragilis . Check out Caribbean Sea Slugs and compare this species with a dozen or so look-alikes.
Gig Harbor, Washington Oct., 2011
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Bob and Carol on the job for marine conservation
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Carol and Bob Cox are retired from the Air Force and live in Mexico Beach, Florida on the northern Gulf of Mexico. They are on the board of directors for the Mexico Beach Artificial Reef Association (MBARA), an all-volunteer organization that raises funds to deploy artificial reefs in the local waters. They also use their talents as divers and underwater photographers to do research for MBARA, surveying conditions of the artificial reefs and cataloguing the surrounding marine life. To learn more about MBARA and see photos of the reefs and marine life, go to www.mbara.org.
Send Carol email at ccox@mchsi.com |
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