Northern Territory Museum needs a nudibranch, and it needs your eyes to find it!

photos by Jason Hoare

Northern Territory biologist Dr Richard Willan suspects that this nudibranch, Spurilla chromosora is a recent arrival in Botany Bay, NSW, and is concerned about its possible impact on our beloved Bare Island ecosystem, and of course more generally, saying "this globe-trotting foreigner poses a threat to all marine life of temperate Australia". This is obviously a very serious threat! Club member Jason Hoare found the elusive nudibranch (2.5cm in this case) in the intertidal zone on the western side of Bare Island on Jan 13. However the species was nowhere to be seen the following Sunday, when five divers, including Club members Jason Hoare and Rory Gregg, spent 2.5 hours each trying to find it again. Dr Willan is asking for a specimen so that its identity can be confirmed and its impact on Australia's temperate ecosystem assessed. If you find one, please collect it in a small plastic container and telephone Dr Willan at work (08) 8999 8238 or at home (08) 8927 4204 so that he can talk you through the process of preserving them, which must be done slowly and carefully. This is urgent. If you plan to dive Bare Island, go prepared. Take a little plastic container with a lid just in case. Unless otherwise stated, this message is current. date: 30 Jan 2006 return to SUBS