This Seaslug is only found in south eastern Australia. It is one of a group of Seaslugs that have all developed similar red spots. It is thought that this mimicry is to help fish learn more quickly not to things with red spots.
A seaslug has won the Miss Underwater Sydney beauty competition for the last 4 years running. The runner up from last years competition was a Black-Margined Seaslug with her classic frilly looks.
Admittedly this Blue Swimmer Crab isn't blue and it is not swimming, but we can assure you that they normally are blue and they can swim, we just had to make do with this photograph. These crabs spend much of their time buried in the sand (probably because they taste so good).
Brittlestars are like starfish, but with extra long legs. These legs snap of really easily which is how Brittlestars got their name.
We haven’t yet identified all the sea slugs that we’ve found. Nudibranchs are the most common Order of sea slug – Nudi (French) means ‘lung’ and ‘branch’ (French, Latin – branchia) means gill (lung). Their gills are situated on the posterior sides of the body. Hence the name ‘naked lung’. This one is a Bubbly Dendrodoris Nudibranch, and it is one of Sydney's rarest. It's one of our favourites - the Bubbly Seaslug as we like to call it.
Decorator Crabs are very clever little crabs. They got so fed up with everyone trying to eat them, that they decided to do something about it. These crabs discovered that they could actually grow sponges on their shell. They cut off little bits of sponge and stick them onto their legs and back.
Worms don't normally win beauty pagents, but Feather Duster Worms would definitely be serious contenders if only they could move and they weren't quite so shy.
Featherstars are the stars of Sydney's underwater nightlife. Every night, all night, they come out and party. They find a spot, where everyone can see them and wave their arms around until the sun comes up.
Hermit Crabs got lucky when they were given their name. They are not actually crabs at all, they’re related to lobsters. But unlike lobsters they don’t have any protection on their naked little bodies – they’re like ‘ready peeled lobsters’.
If you like putting your head in holes underwater you'll come eye to eye with hinge-beak shrimps. Lots of Hinge-Beak Shrimps. These shrimps are everywhere in Sydney.