Armina loveni

David Kipling Armina loveni and its food (a small species of sea pen). Strangford Lough at ~ 20m on muddy sediment habitat. Last recorded here by Bernard Picton in 1990. This would be a great place to do a nudibranch safari ...

Chris Wood Seasearch surveys Squirts in Scottish Marine Protected Areas A Seasearch Team has just spent a week diving in the Firth of Lorn SAC and proposed MPAs at Loch Goil and Loch Sween. Highlights were: - Enormous numbers of sea squirts (the prime target for the survey) at Balvicar Bluff and in Scotnish Narrows in Loch Sween - Priority species Northern Sea Fans and Fireworks Anemones at various sites - Increasing diversity at Jeannie's Reef since the banning of dredging in the Firth of Lorn - Rare nudibranch Armina loveni feeding on Slender Sea Pens The sea squirt surveys are part of a focus this year on gathering data bout sea squirt distribution and species recognition which will go into a new Seasearch Guide on Sponges and Ascidians which is due for publication in 2014. The Scottish survey follows events earlier in the year in both West and North Wales. The Scottish Marine Protected Areas proposals are currently out for consultation. To help support the proposals, please respond to the consultation at www.mcsuk.org/mpa/scotland/consultation

Niels Schrieken Awesome behavior of cuthona on metal tube in the North Sea

Anne Diver What an incredible photo of extraordinary behavior.

Gary Cobb I would love to see a high-res version of this photo! Nice one.

Gary Cobb Cane you please say exactly where this photo was taken?

David Kipling http://www.wrecksite.eu/wreck.aspx?120584

Niels Schrieken N 54 degree 30.949 min, E 2 degree 36.259

David Kipling And about 20m underwater ;)

David Kipling Only sunk in 2002 Niels ... I wonder if this explains the nudibranch congregation? Ie it is still being colonised, so there are fewer species on it that an older wreck, so maybe still space for lots of Hydractinia and their Cuthonas?

Niels Schrieken Max depth 22.8 meters ;-)

Niels Schrieken Maybe. I have seen large area's of Hyrdactinia in other wrecks too. But with some Cuthona on it. But never in this numbers and this kind of behavior. They also did it in a similar way on a flat surface.

David Kipling If it was Armina loveni it could have been 22.9m .... http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/armilove

David Kipling I gather Dawn and Rob get loads of Hydractinia on the (shallow) wrecks in the N Sea off Norfolk/Suffolk. Not sure they ever seen the Cuthonas on them, though.

Rob Spray We do see patches and cover of Hydractinia but no Cuthona orgies so far :-(

David Kipling Do you get them at all Rob? And how deep are your wrecks typically that have them?

Rob Spray I think we have seen rare examples, not sex crazed gatherings

George Brown I'm sure most of you will have seen this beautiful video of Armina californica, shot in the Puget Sound, but it dramatically suggests why we rarely see it's relative Armina loveni, certainly in the Scottish Highlands. The attached photo shows a 45mm long Armina loveni crawling past a nervous looking juvenile Pennatula phosphorea. Loch Duich, 34metres, 60mm lens. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A23p77bkY_c

Christian Skauge Awesome video! I've never come across this species in Norway, but I know Erling Svensen has, and there are a few other sightings. I had the pleasure to find heaps of them in Ireland a couple years ago, and they're really funny creatures!

David Kipling Great video George, thanks for sharing that link! One of these days I'll see one of these (although might have to start diving in different locations!).

Christian Skauge Yeah, they like it muddy :-)

Bernard Picton I like the way the video encapsulates so much of the biology in such an artistic way and in a short time. It has won several awards.

Bernard Picton Has anyone seen "Malice in Wonderland", by Peter Scoones. He made what he wanted rather than what the BBC were normally commissioning him to do, and I loved it. It has been repeated, but not often.

Bernard Picton Christian, whereabouts in Ireland did you see them?

Christian Skauge On the house reef at Scuba Dive West in Galway, Connemara in 2009 :-)

David Kipling Really? That's where we had our first ever try-dive! It was foggy in Connemara, we were camping, and the hills were off-limits. What could we do that didn't require visibility? And then we saw a little signs pointing down a track, saying "Try Dive" ... and the rest is history!

David Kipling Sarah Bowen ... when did we go to SDW? What year?

Christian Skauge Fantastic place! I went there to do a story and visited Inish Boffin and did some local diving. Apart from the islands, the house reef was what really caught my attention. Several different habitats within swimming range, and a lot of exciting critters to be found. And Connemara... is always foggy, isn't it?

Christian Skauge A few images from the trip here: http://www.undervannsfoto.no/index.php?page=shop.browse&option=com_virtuemart&keyword=ireland

Bernard Picton Connemara is *often* foggy, or raining, but when it's clear it's stunning!

David Kipling A picture (and video) of interest to Inga Williamson.

Rudolf Svensen Here is an other bugger from todays dive, Armina loveni. Never seen one before. It was quite eager to dig down in to the mud too. Does anybody knows what they eat. Maybe sea pens?

David Kipling Bernard Picton's website suggests the sea pen Virgularia mirabilis. Wow ;)

Torjus Haukvik Sea pens are correct, specifically Virgularia mirabilis.

Jussi Evertsen Both Pennatula and Virgularia - Armina is a burrowing species so you were lucky to find one up and about

Rudolf Svensen Yes there was a lot of Virgularia mirabilis around and some of them looked a bit worn out :-) . Jussi Evertsen we found several. Is Cuthona pustulata a burrowing species too?

George Brown I watched one crawl towards a juvenile Pennatula but it disappeared into the mud just before it made contact. Maybe heading for the seapens root? Google "Attack of the Sea Slugs" for an amazing video that reveals why we don't see this nudibranch often. If Cuthona pustulata also borrows I wonder how many other species employ this tactic?

Jussi Evertsen I have only found Cuthona pustulata on hydroids so far, so I would not place a bet on it

João Pedro Silva I've only seen Armina maculata eating (it feeds on Veretillum cynomorium). In some places it's often found intertidally and there it appears to "dig in" for the "root". But I once saw one on top of the Veretillum cynomorium (~10m deep) and the sea pen had distinct bite marks: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpsilva1971/6997998059/ The bite marks appear to fit the profile of the radula (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Armina_maculata_Rafinesque,_1814_-_radula_.jpg).

Tony Gilbert How interesting. Virgularia mirabilis occurs a lot in Scottish sea lochs, although there is one colony I've seen in Holyhead marina, and another next to the Lochgarry. Although I've not seen the nudi: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyjgilbert-images/4256758825/in/set-72157621920489748/ Veretillum cynomorium is present also in Canary islands, Where in Lanzarote it is only (mainly) seen nocturnally, and is recorded as rare-ish here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyjgilbert-images/5559034843/in/set-72157626351917680 Be sure to be looking for this one next time!

Erling Svensen I would also like to share with you pictures of Armina loveni from Sognefjord in Norway. Time: July. Dept: 20 meter. Very silty bottom with many Virgularia mirabilis. There were hundreds of the nudi. I did the dive to find "different" things. As a diver one must dive "stupid" dives some times to just explore new, nice things.

Christian Skauge Ooh very nice! Not many records of these from Norway, and certainly not any pictures that match this one!

Cynthia D. Trowbridge amazing photo...thanks for sharing!

Erling Svensen Do any of you know these eggs? From 10 meters deep, muddy bottom in May this year.

João Pedro Silva They look similar to Armina's I've seen.

Erling Svensen Thanks both of you

CplBhavik Patel Hemmenuia sp., I think. We have similar kind from Gulf of Kachchh (Gujarat,INDIA)

Bernard Picton Were there any sea pens in the area?

CplBhavik Patel Yep

David Kipling This looks to be eggs within a single case, as opposed to a thread-like spiral of that thing we saw in Scotland Bernard that you think could be Armina loveni.

Marco Faasse Also consider Acteon ...

George Brown I've found what I think are Armina eggs. The "enclosure", containing the eggs, was anchored at each end.

Erling Svensen A lot of sea pens, Bernard Picton

Bernard Picton The other species with eggs a bit like this is Okenia leachii. I've only seen them once, and I think they were only anchored at one end. I also think they were bigger than this. Were there any seasquirts buried in the sand, Erling?

Erling Svensen I did not sea any seasquirts, Bernard. Do we have Okenia leachii in Norway?

Franki Perry Hiya Erling, I think that the egg case could be Acteon tornatilis. If you have a look at the pdf there are some more details of the eggs produce by this species. http://sabella.mba.ac.uk/1621/01/Observations_on_the_opisthobranch_mollusc_Acteon_tornatilis_(L.).pdf

Franki Perry Was the egg case anchored into the sediment? It looks as though it is on the left hand side of the case?

Erling Svensen The eggs weere anchored in the sediment in one side.

Erling Svensen Yes, I think you are right, Franki. Looks like the one here http://nature22.com/estran22/mollusques/gasteropodes/gasteropodes22.php