Nudibranch Hunting: Maui Muck Diving

White bumped nudibranch

  It had been some time since Heidi and I had been nudibranch hunting in our old diving grounds on Maui. The weather tried to foil us by flooding Kihei with late season downpours and sending surf from the south, but we still managed to find more species of nudibranchs on a few dives than most dive instructors working in Maui see all year. It's all about where you look, and it's not always where you would think to look.

Thecacera pacifica, or pokemon guy

  We spotted some of our old favorites like imperial nudibranchs, white bump nudibranchs, and gloomy nudibranchs. We were also pleasantly surprised to see some of the rarer species like our little orange nudi that we affectionately call the 'orange pokemon guy.'

Tambja morosa with green gills

The green gilled new-comer

  We found quite a few gloomy nudibranchs (tambja morosa) at our secret nudi dive spot but we did notice a much higher percentage with greenish gills than our normal blue. It seems that lately this greenish coloration has been moving in. It will be interesting to see if the all blue color gills become rarer or extinct altogether.

Tambja morosa with blue gills

  The greenish hued gill tambja is pictured above. You can compare it to the blue one here on the left. You won't find this all blue kind outside of Hawaii so this is something we will keep a close eye on. Speaking of eyes, check out the photoreceptor 'eye-like' organs in the closeup shot of the tambja morosa on the right.

Imperial Nudibranchs

White margin nudibranch

  One thing I always hope for as a photographer is for the nudibranchs to be positioned in a good pose. It actually helps if they are on the move because they are quite slow and you can be all set up for when they get in the perfect spot. Sometimes they want to hang deep in a crevice or under a small overhand but with the calm water conditions they were out and about for most of our dives.

rare Verconia sp.#4

glowing Gold Lace Nudibranch

Red spotted nudibranch

  We have a couple of goto spots when we want to search out nudibranchs on Maui, and while we keep one a bit secret, the other is one of the most visited sights on the island. Hundreds of snorkelers and many divers visit a place called 'Turtle Town' which local divers call five graves. It is located on the south shoreline in Makena. Most people are so concentrated on big turtles and white tip sharks that they aren't looking for tiny nudibranchs. This place can be a treasure trove. On this dive we found two red spotted nudis, a gold lace which looks like it glows from the inside, and a Verconia sp#4. 

close up of the gills of the kangaroo nudi

A tiny kangaroo nudibranch (Ceratosoma tenue)

   Searching for nudibranchs never gets old. It is one of the ocean's great treasure hunts. Heidi and I have spent years and have flown around the world on our search. You can see the culmination of these incredible animals in my nudibranch photography collection at http://www.daimarsphotos.com/Wildlife/Nudibranchs/
  In this collection you will see cold water nudibranchs from places like Cape Town, South Africa and Alaska's Inside Passage. There are tropical species from Indonesia, Philippines, Hawaii, and more. But beware, the more pictures you look at, and the more you find out about nudibranchs the more you might want to start your own search.