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The unknown nudibranches

In 2005 I took this photo in Tioman Island in Malaysia at a divespot called Batu Malang. I had taken many photos of nudibranches before but never seen this type before. Back at the diveshop I was working with I asked the owner, who had more than 500 dives around this area but he had never seen them before. Other divers on the island said the same thing, they didn't know what species it was. After my months in Asia I found my self back in Denmark and cruising the internet. I tried to find the ID on the two nudibranches and got to know about a guy called Neville Coleman, an expert in weird criters on coralreefs. I mailed the photo too him and wrote the story. Maybe the nudibranches were not very interesting or Neville Coleman was a very busy diver, I didn't hear anything from him.

I sort of forgot about the photo of the two tiny little guys from Batu Malang until a few months ago when I was going through my photos for this website and did a Google search on every possible word that could lead to an answer about the nudibranches and got very surprised... In a PDF file from Sport Diving Magazine under IndoPacific Identity Crisis, the man himself, Neville Coleman had answered my question about the nudibranches. Below is my question and his answer...

Hi Neville,
I just got home to Denmark after working in Tioman
Island in Malaysia. I took a lot of photos of
nudibranchs that every diver on the island knows but
these no one had seen before. The shot is taken on a
local site called Batu Malang in 14 metres. The owner
of Azmi Dive Shop has been diving 15 years in those
waters and never encountered this nudibranch.
I tried to look them up but can’t find them, can you
please help me? Thanks for the good articles you write.
Happy diving, Jesper Rosenberg

Answer from Neville Coleman:

Dear Jesper,
I believe that area has some really interesting
species. Your image is excellent and though your
species isn’t seen veryoften I can detail it for you.
FAMILY: Dorididae
COMMON NAME: Pom pom taringa
SCIENTIFIC NAMES: Taringa halgerda
REMARKS: A rather rare species which grows to
around 25mm, this beautiful little nudibranch
occurs on the Great Barrier Reef, in the Philippines
and at Mabul, Borneo.

Your image is a new record
for the area as far as I can determine. It was only
described in 1998. (see page 62/14, 1001
Nudibranchs). If you have any more unusual
species we would love to see them.
Best wishes, Neville

 

 

This little fellow was shot in only 5 meters of water. It was around 8 cm long which is pretty large in the world of nudies... Soyak Island, Tioman Island, Malaysia 2005

Cromodoris Kuniei Nudibranch, Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia, 2005

 

 

If you stop for a few minuts underwater, little things will appear like these guys....
Nudibranch, Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia, 2005






This one was sitting on a wreck of a fisherboat in 27 meters of water.
Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia, 2005

Stands out very clear with it's purple colour.
Flambuoyant seaslug, Salang Jetty, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005






Hoplodoris Estrelayado is the latin name.... Nudibranch, Kota Kinabalu, Borneo, Malaysia, 2005

 

Hepselodroris Apolegma.... It's very pink and shot in 12 meters.
Nudibranch, Labas, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

Jorunna Funebris. Lots of these 3 cm fellow around this divespot.
Batu Malang, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

It was sitting around the same pole on the jetty for a few days and then disapeared.
Salang Jetty, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

´

On the same dive around the spot I saw 5 of this type.
The orange colour stands out good in the grey background.
Sepoi Island, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

The spot is one of my favorits for nudies.
Batu Malang, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

Nudibranch on the volcanic sand by the USS Liberty wreck. Tulamben, Bali, Indonesia, 2005

This type likes to move the rim in waves, don't know why.... Batu Malang, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

The strobe I was using did not work so the colours turned out bad. Oilrig, Mabul Island, Borneo, Malaysia, 2005

It was just hanging on in the strong current in 7 meters of water. Magicianne Rock, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

Nudi mom crawling away from her yellow eggs. Labas, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

Curious nudi shot in 50 meters of water. Sipadan, Borneo, Malaysia, 2005

He was around 8 cm long, big and chunky. Soyak Island, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

One of my favorite divesites with lots of underwater life. Tiger Reef, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

This type was all over the place. Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

On the same dive I saw 4 of these trying to be dogs.... Sepoi Island, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

Trying to make little nudi babies.... Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005






Shot just to the right of Azmi Dive Shop in 12 meters of water. Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

 

Salang Jetty, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

 

Batu Malang, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

 

 

Almost invisible to the eye, this nudibranch was slowly cruising the bottom. Sipadan, Malaysia, 2005

 

 

Incredible colours on the fellow. Sepoi Island, Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

 

A little seaslug. Tioman Island, Malaysia, 2005

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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