Posts By: Steve Reynolds
August 19, 2017
The Unique South
David Muirhead says, “(It) Seems like only yesterday that lovers of temperate southern Australian rocky reefs first heard and, in some cases, eagerly promulgated the term “The Unique South “. The term had instant appeal as a catchy descriptor with seemingly obvious educational value. I loved the term from the first encounter. I guess the term “Unique South ” struck so powerful an emotional chord within me because fate decreed the time had come. And because of the validation it…
Posted in Uncategorized | By Steve Reynolds
August 8, 2017
Jean and “Kitty” Whyte (Daughter of shark attack victim died exactly 77 years to the day later)
“Kitty” Whyte was SA’s first known shark attack victim. In March 1926, she had been giving swimming lessons to some children at Brighton jetty when she was attacked by a 3-4m shark She was subsequently rescued by two men in a boat, but she apparently died on the beach. I previously documented Kitty’s death in two past MLSSA Newsletter issues (Nov. 2011 and Feb. 2012). My two-part report regarding Kitty’s death gave the date of her death as 17th March…
Posted in Achievements, Sharks & Rays | By Steve Reynolds
July 9, 2017
The Branched Feeding Tentacles of Dendrochirotid Sea Cucumbers
I recently posted this photograph on the “ID Please (Marine Creature Identification)” Facebook page, asking “Are these sea cucumber tentacles? Taken at Port Stanvac, South Australia.” I soon received a reply from Frédéric Ducarme saying “Yes, dendrochirotid sea cucumbers.” Frederic provided me with a link to Wikipedia where it read ““Dendrochirotida are an order of sea cucumbers. Members of this order have branched tentacles and are suspension feeders. Examples include Thyonella and Cucumaria.” The Wikipedia page went on to say,…
Posted in Marine invertebrates | By Steve Reynolds
July 6, 2017
Port Noarlunga Anchor’s Anniversary
The ‘big’ anchor at Port Noarlunga reef has been there as long as I have known, but only just. It was apparently placed in position at the reef just under two weeks before I did my first dive there. It was years before I got to see it though. It was Sunday 22nd January 1978 when divers moved the anchor from where it had been buried in sand to a rocky area where it would be seen more by divers….
Posted in Dive Reports, Maritime History | By Steve Reynolds
July 6, 2017
We can claim to have reached a 60-year milestone in 2017
As explained in my article titled “MLSSA replaced the SA Museum Underwater Research Group”, “MLSSA, formerly MARIA (SA Branch), followed on from the SA Museum Underwater Research Group. The Museum URG was established in 1957. It was part of many international URGs which commenced in France in 1945. The first URG was established in Toulon, France in 1945 and was led by Philippe Tailliez. Several URGs sprang up throughout Australia during the mid-1950s. The SA Museum URG was established in…
Posted in Achievements, Events | By Steve Reynolds
June 26, 2017
The comb jellies Bolinopsis and Mnemiopsis
I took this ‘one off’ shot of a clear jelly during my dive at Moonta Bay jetty in June 2017. While the photograph is enigmatic, my observations were sufficient for me to pursue a positive identification of the species. It turned out to be a comb jelly, and my interest in the animal was piqued and extended with help from the author of the books Stung! and Jellyfish: A Natural History, Dr Lisa-Ann Gershwin. I posted the photo on the…
Posted in Cnidaria, Invasive species, Jetties, Marine invertebrates | By Steve Reynolds
June 25, 2017
Our stay at the Moonta Bay Beach Villas
A small group of Society members were able to stay at the Moonta Bay Beach Villas over the weekend recently, thanks to the kindness of Peter Anastassiadis. We were supposed to be a bigger group, but half of the group cancelled out at the last minute due to cold or flu problems. Lyndon and David arrived at the villa on the Friday night. They were soon joined by Haixia Wen. Lyndon was able to do some stand-up paddle boarding by…
Posted in Dive Reports, Jetties | By Steve Reynolds
June 19, 2017
Osedax Worms Update 2
Osedax worms have been found in Australian waters for the first time. Osedax worms are ‘whale’ worms, worms that feed on the bones of dead whales. They were recently found burrowed deep inside the bones of a pilot whale hauled up from a deep-sea abyss off Byron Bay, New South Wales (no pun intended). The skull and spine of the pilot whale were both hauled up from the abyss off Australia’s east coast. Scientists discovered Osedax worms burrowed deep inside…
Posted in Research, Whales & Dolphins, Worms | By Steve Reynolds
June 13, 2017
Congolli, Pseudaphritis urvillii
This fish that I photographed at the Ships’ Graveyard in the North Arm of the Port River earlier this year was confirmed on iNaturalist as being a Congolli (Pseudaphritis urvillii). I had reported the sighting of the Congolli in my article titled “Further Discoveries at the Ships Graveyard” at http://mlssa.org.au/2017/03/25/further-discoveries-at-the-ships-graveyard/ I came across another one in Angas Inlet at the Garden Island jetty during a night dive there on 8th June (World Oceans Day). My photos of it were certainly…
Posted in Bony fishes | By Steve Reynolds
June 12, 2017
Shovelnose Stingarees
Fish identification can be tricky at the best of times. Then there are often new species that were not included in the old fish books. And the scientific names of species are often changing, and even changing back again. I recently revisited my 2016 article titled “Same Ray Seen Two Months Apart” (It can be found at http://mlssa.org.au/2016/01/09/same-ray-seen-two-months-apart/). It was about my sighting of a ‘stingray’ with part of its tail missing. I had seen what appeared to be the…
Posted in Sharks & Rays | By Steve Reynolds