Flabellina Dushia (Flabellina dushia) – Blue Heron Bridge, Riviera Beach, Fl
Flabellina’s are some of the smallest, and most beautiful, nudibranch subjects under the bridge. This was the first one I had ever found, cruising slowly across some Bugula eating its dinner of hydroids. This animal is so tiny, that I was literally in shock when I had first noticed it – I stared at it for a good two or three minutes before I was sure it was even a nudibranch. Bright red cerata (spike-shaped respiration appendages) cover the dorsal side of this mainly white nudi, which should make it easier to see, right? Wrong. Look at the second image and you can see planktonic animals moving across the frame, mere millimeters in length. I was working hard to capture this moment before the tide switched and we were promptly asked to leave by the strong tide change.
Canon G15, Nauticam NAG15, Inon s2000 (x2), Sola Photo 800, Nauticam CMC-1
1/1000 sec, f/8, ISO80