WooHoo! A new critter for me!

[Dusty2]

The end of June I spent a week in PT and on one dive I spotted a really small nudie in the eel grass at about 10' or so. Curious I began to do really close sweeps for tiny critters The smaller the better. Soon I focused down to where I began to see smaller critters than I normally see. Lo and behold I soon spotted this tiny micro nudie that I could barley see. I hunkered down and kept my eyes on it while I set my camera to shoot as close as I could get. I was afraid to look away knowing I'd never find it again. I took several pix while the surge from passing boats rocked us back and forth making it very hard to keep it in the view finder. A couple of times it got blown off the blade of grass and I quickly moved another blade near it to grab onto. Thankfully I got a few shots where it was clear enough to make out. So I talked to some of my nudie knowledgeable friends and no one seemed to recognize it. Unfortunately Dave Behrens was out of the country so I had to wait for him to return to find out.

He came back today and sent me a note and sure enough It is one I never even heard of!

Eubranchus misakiensis. Normally found from Japan to Hong Kong and only rumored to be on the west coast.
The first shot is for size

also for an idea of size

[Jan K]

Congratulations ! You da' man

[ktb]

Wow. I don't know how you see these guys. I look for small stuff, but that's just crazy tiny. Amazing.

[nwscubamom]

Your eyesight is amazing. There's no way I could even see that!! Keep finding the weird critters!
- Janna

[LCF]

I'm with Janna -- even if you pointed it out underwater, I don't think I can see well enough to realize that was a slug! Very cool find -- with the documentation, is this now a range extension?

[Blaiz]

congrats dusty!

[Dusty2]

Thanks guys, It is getting harder to find new things after all the thousands of pix I have taken but that just makes it more fun and keeps the gray matter happy.

People keep asking why I love Hudson point so much and this is why. There is always the chance to find something new on any dive. It's close proximity to the straits of Juan de fuca and the emerald sea as well as being right at the entrance to Puget sound means that it gets life from all 3 and occasionally the Pacific ocean too.

I really enjoy it when I find a little critter and another diver comes over to see what I am shooting and gives me the then I point to it with my finger almost touching it and I still get the I credit Prescription Dive Masks for the fine job they did with my mask and all my years as a machinist and competition shooter for programming my brain to find tiny things that others don't see.

[Dusty2]

I'm with Janna -- even if you pointed it out underwater, I don't think I can see well enough to realize that was a slug! Very cool find -- with the documentation, is this now a range extension?

It might add more ammo as it is already rumored to exist here. The problem with these tiny critters is unless you get a specimen for examination under a microscope it is almost impossible to say definitively that it is the critter you think it is. Even then you need an expert to verify it. But when Dave sez it's Eubranchus misakiensis that's good enough for me.

[Biodiversity_Guy]

Pretty Neat.

Pretty Amazing eyesight!

Pretty Nice Pictures