One of our members recently went to go snorkelling at Second Valley to look for seadragons. Unfortunately, he did not find any, but he did see some Blue devils: –
Southern Blue Devil, Paraplesiops meleagris
He even saw a Harlequin fish (possibly two on separate days): –
Harlequin Fish. Othos dentex
He also saw a tiny Southern Fiddler Ray, Trygonorrhina dumerilii just before the weather set in: –
The tiny Southern Fiddler Ray, Trygonorrhina dumerilii
(pictured with a watch for scale)
This leatherjacket with some spines on its caudal peduncle is a male Yellowstriped Leatherjacket: –
A male Yellowstriped Leatherjacket, Meuschenia flavolineata
(in front of an Old Wife, Enoplosus armatus)
This is a small female (or perhaps older juvenile/immature) Rainbow Cale: –
A small Rainbow Cale, Heteroscarus acroptilus
Other fish sighted included Blackspotted wrasse(s): –
Blackspotted Wrasse, Austrolabrus maculatus
One of the highlights of the snorkels was this wandering sea anemone: –
Wandering Sea Anemone, Phlyctenactis tuberculosa
I almost forgot to include this photo of a nice unidentified sponge seen there: –
An unidentified sponge, Phylum Porifera
We thank our anonymous member for sending through this report and his photos. These are just a tiny sample of the wonderful marine life to be seen at sites such as Second Valley.