Letters

Jim, an avid Hantu diver, learnt about The Hantu Blog through FinsOnline. He writes:



I was diving at hantu on 30th October and spotted a Ceratosoma (can't find the matching photos in the book) and took quite a few photos of it. My photos are available at
http://public.fotki.com/lovells19/pulau_hantu/

best regards
Fatjim :)

The pix are beautiful! Thanks for sharing them Jim! More of our Southern Islands' beauty and surprises have been revealed!

The sea slug you've photographed certainly looks like C. tenue but it could also be C. trilobatum, which has a very similiar colour and shape.

C. trilobatum can be distinguished by having only one large lateral lobe on either side of its body, just anterior to the gills. C. tenue has 3 mantle lobes on each side of the body. There is usually a ridge joining each lateral lobe to the anterior head lobe, however this can be difficult to observe. The background colour can vary from pale green to orange-red or brown, and generally is mottled and spotted with lighter colours. There are usually small yellow or orange spots and the edge of the mantle, and sometimes the foot, is bordered with a broken or continuous purple line.

It is always useful to take note of the depth and substrate in which the animals are encountered. Size is certainly very useful too, as you've taken care to note! C. tenue is known to occur in depths of 2-10m and in sandy rubble areas. It is also understood to grow to a maximum length of approximately 10 cm, and comes in a variety of colours.

When taking pictures, it's helpful to take several angles, just to assist in its identification, paying attention to unique or outstanding attributes.

If you've got pix you'd like to share, email us!