Nudibranchs of Bali

January 17, 2016

Joruna funebris

Nudibranchs of Bali:

It’s time for a treasure hunt, Bali-style. One of the guarantees of scuba diving in Indonesia is seeing lots of nudibranchs. The warm tropical waters here in Bali are home to hundreds of different species of beautiful sea slugs, some of which have probably yet to be identified. Even though they are brightly colored with psychedelic patterns it can still take a trained eye to find them. They are usually small, relatively still, and can blend in with all of the colorful coral and sponges that also live on the reefs. The amazing diversity of the nudibranchs here would be enough to satisfy the most experienced diver anywhere in the world….and to think that nudibranchs are just the icing on the cake to all the other amazing critters waiting to be found and photographed underwater.

Thecacera sp.5

Nembrotha feeding

Thecacera sp.7

Doriprismatica atromarginata

So far we have found some of our old favorites as well as some exciting new species. Tulamben has an incredible muck diving scene that is almost on par with the world-famous muck diving a little farther north in the Lembeh Strait, without the long flight. Add an a-la-carte dive resort like Liberty Dive Resort only meters away from the beach and you have a wonderful alternative to the all-inclusive dive resorts of Lembeh. This gives you the flexibility to take an afternoon off to go explore the Balinese countryside, or just relax by the pool. Since we had a non-diver with us for this part of the trip it was also a fun opportunity to go for a snorkel over the shipwreck. We even managed to find some fun nudibranchs on the snorkel which is never an easy task.