Lord Howe Island
700 kilometres north-east of Sydney, Lord Howe Island [31.5S, 159.1E] is variously described as being in the South Pacific, the southern end of the Coral Sea or the northern end of the Tasman Sea. Just 11 kilometres long and 2.8 kilometres at its widest, the Island has a fascinating blend of tropical and temperate marine life, including the most southerly coral reef in the world. The island is a World Heritage area and much of the marine environment is a New South Wales protected marine park. Ian Hutton, a resident naturalist on the island for many years, has sent me a collection of opisthobranch photographs from the island, for identification. With his permission I am including them on the Forum. Unfortunately there is little accompanying data with the photos but they give an interesting glimpse of the fauna, which like coastal New South Wales, is a mixture of widespread tropical species and species endemic to parts of the eastern Australian coast.
To get a list of species reported on the Forum from Lord Howe Island just use the Forum's internal SEARCH facility. [Search either for Lord Howe Island or Ian Hutton].
Authorship detailsRudman, W.B., 2003 (January 2) Lord Howe Island. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/lordhowe
Related messages
Opisthobranchs from Lord Howe Island
January 6, 2003
From: Bill Rudman
700 kilometres north-east of Sydney, Lord Howe Island has a fascinating blend of tropical and temperate marine life, including the most southerly coral reef in the world. Ian Hutton, a resident naturalist on the island for many years, has sent me a collection of opisthobranch photographs from the island, for identification. With his permission I am including them on the Forum. I am posting the first record today. Unfortunately there is little accompanying data with the photos but they give an interesting glimpse of the fauna, which like coastal New South Wales, is a mixture of widespread tropical species and species endemic to parts of the eastern Australian coast. Have a look at the Lord Howe Island page for further information.
Bill Rudman
