Hypselodoris californiensis and underwater tantrums

October 15, 2000
From: Scott Johnson

Hi Bill,

Sending the yellow spotted Hypselodoris ghiselini recently caused me to think about the cooler water species from the coast of California, Hypselodoris californiensis. These two shots came from my very first dive trip in a temperate climate more than 20 years ago. On a trip to the US mainland from Hawaii, a friend took me out to California's Santa Cruz Island, promising that I'd see some large and spectacular nudibranchs. It was enough to make me brave waters considerably colder than I'd ever ventured into. When I dropped into the water and was sinking to the bottom, I admit I questioned my decision. But such questions vanished as I reached
bottom; from where I landed, I could see no fewer than 5 different species of large nudis, none of which I had ever before seen in the flesh. Ecstasy! Now I was glad I'd brought two cameras down with me. I had only one strobe, though, but it had an EO connector that allowed me to switch it from one camera to another under water. ……Unfortunately, the trip from Hawaii had jarred something in the strobe loose, so it failed to work with either camera. Ever see someone have a temper tantrum underwater? Out of the water, I was able to get the strobe working, so I did manage to get some pics. This was fortunate, since despite a fair bit of California diving in the mid '80s, I never again saw H. californiensis.

Scott

johnson@kmrmail.kmr.ll.mit.edu

Johnson, S., 2000 (Oct 15) Hypselodoris californiensis and underwater tantrums. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3175

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