So, I have just ticked what seems to be quite a rare sea slug, Trapania maculata. Four years after I took the photos at The Pound in Eastbourne. How then did this happen? Probably easiest to give a timeline. In reverse.
Oct 2023: I went out sea-fishing and took lots of photos of line caught fish and then put them somewhere 'safe' for future Graeme to find.
Aug 2020: In my weird year of hanging around with TinyRecorder, I went to The Pound for a rock-pooling session with him. I was keen to refind the amazing Polycera quadrilineata I had found in Mar 2019. To my amazement, I found one quickly and took a series of poor photos, little did I know it was actually the much scarcer Trapania maculata until I find the files four years later and in the intervening time, develop an obsession with nudibranchs. Here are the best shots I took of it and the one featuring Tiny last.
I wish I had got a better photo but this is good enough to clinch the ID. It has that odd equilateral triangle on the back, more yellow on the siphonophores (which are a different shape, with a thin bit at the end), lacks the six tentacles at the front of Polycera, four yellow appendages at the sides like folded up legs (instead, just two larger and less yellow ones at the back) and overall looks quite different.
March 2019: Here's Polycera quadrilineata so you can see how I could have made the mistake. Especially when your're specifically looking for one amazing looking yellow and white sea slug in the exact same place you've found it before, in the exact same way (sweep netting weed in the lagoon). Anyway, the water was really murky when I saw the Trapania too, unlike in March when I found the actual Polycera.
A quick look on the NBN and there are only 24 records for Trapania maculata, where as for most of the other 11 species of nudibranch I have seen there are usually over a 1,000 or in a few cases, hundreds. I am so pleased as this could have remained unnoticed for ever. And I have really missed the nudibranchs since getting back from Jersey. What is most odd, I had lost all memory of this encounter until I saw the photos. As I did very little blogging in 2020, but lots of TinyRecorders which are lost in Facebook, I have not remembered many of these wildlife encounters in the same way I normally would.
Anyways, proper stoked with this find! Also a massive shout out to Bernard Picton & Christine Morrow's for their laminated book of dreams, AKA Nudibranchs of Britain, Ireland and Northwest Europe. I would not have got to the ID so quickly today without it. I love this book and I think spending time just flicking through it recently is why I clocked that as being different instantly today but didn't notice at all four years ago.
Right, need to find that Black Sea-bream photo now...
I know right! "WTF is that?!", I hear you say. Well, I literally put that image at the start to suck you in. You'll have to wait until the end to find out what this grubby fluffkin is.
This is my second post on the trip to Jersey and this one is just about the spiders. I'll do a third one on all the other inverts soon. I believe I recorded some13 spiders new to Jersey, of which six were new to the Channel Islands (one of these was actually in 2017 but I only found out about that last night).
First up, the first time I got my little tray out, produced Heliophanus tribulatus - a spider that turned out to be widespread on the island (and is known from Jersey). This was a lifer for me and a great start. The females are very orange-legged (not yellow) and most of the spider is covered in golden hairs (a jersey-wearing jumper on Jersey). It has just two spots on the abdomen that often merge to form a band (and another further back). I bet it will be in the UK soon. I don't think I ever found it by suction, beaten from Pellitory-of-the-wall on old sunny walls and sometimes from Gorse.
And the male, quite like Heliophanus kochii in terms of the white-spotted legs and palps but lacking the four spots on the abdomen and the dark tip (where the hairs are absent). The palp is bonkers. This shouldn't be too difficult to spot if it turns up here, unless it already has and I am behind the times. The specimen in the tray at the bottom has some white on the abdomen but it is situated further back.
A short trip around the coastal cliffs near where we stayed and in among the dozens of Macaroeris nidicolens that are on nearly every tree and wall and I spotted something different. Dendryphantes rudis, another jumping spider lifer! This an immature. Very distinct pattern on the abdomen.
And here an adult male with much less of a distinct pattern. Very leggy this one.
And the only other spider lifer I had out there (bringing my British Isles spider list up to 547 species) was Zelotes longipes (this species is listed as Nationally Rare in the UK, where it has not been recorded since 2015). I found a male and a female in Les Blanches Banques. I should add that I had to get a permit from the government to take a small number of specimens from their SSIs there.
I saw one Attulus saltator there too, always a pleasure to see this dweeb. Anyone else think they look like Ralph Wiggum? No? Just me then. I also saw a pair of Myrmarachne formicaria in the dunes (so much cool stuff to see that I didn't even get a photo of them).
And here is a Macaroeris nidicolens. They are incredibly abundant there in all sorts of habitats. I remember ticking this spider there in 2017 on Jersey, it was in the dunes at Ouaisne.
So what were the 13 species I hear you say? Well, here's the list of the six that were new to the Channel Islands (as far as I can tell). Big shocker here with the first one!
Macaroeris nidicolens! - not kidding when I say it's on every Gorse bush.
Anyphaenea numida - from just north of Mont Orgueil Castle. This thing is spreading and fast!
Lasaeola prona - from the cliff tops at Gorselands.
Scotina gracilipes - this adult female from Portelet Common.
Acartauchenius scurrilus - an adult male, also vacced from coastal grassland at Portelet.
Agroeca cuprea - from several areas in the dunes around Les Blanches Banques!
Spiders I seemingly had new to Jersey were...
Ero aphana
Episinus truncatus
Enoplognatha mandibularis
Metopobractus prominulus
Gnathonarium dentatum (?!)
Phaeocedus braccatus (at Gorselands on the cliffs)
Xysticus sabulosus (common at Les Blanches Banques)
Most of these are likely to be unrecorded residents that have been here for a very long time while some (like Anyphaenea numida) are likely very recent arrivals. Jersey is great for so many species groups and the relative lack of spider recording that has happened here means there is plenty to still be found.
I had a great evening at Gorselands meeting up with Tim Ransom (thanks to Karen for the photos).
There were LOADS of Gnaphosa there (and later, also at Portelet). All sub-adults. I am going to try and rear some but I have had to send some to Ty too as I am not good at rearing spiders. Fingers crossed though.
The other spider that is common there but not in the UK, is Gibbaranea bituberculata. Here are a few of them. I saw just one back in 2017.
And Porrhoclubiona genevensis is all over the shop. Yes, in cliff grassland like in Cornwall but I also had them in dunes and in Reed litter!
Finally, I have saved my favorite until last. Anyone remember me find this at Portelet in 2017? The insane looking Heriaeus mellotteei.
I really wanted to find it again but instead, I picked up what must be its spiderlings in the vac and boy, are they crazy little abominable snow-spiders! If there ever was a spider that looks like it's wearing a jersey, it's this!
I have not identified everything yet though but I don't think there will be any more surprises. Now I need to get back to the book...
WOW! We have just got back from a week on Jersey and it was INSANE! I will have to write several posts to cover just how much stuff we saw there, this one being concerned with the marine side of things. Rock-pooling to the south east of the island is incredible. The first thing you need to know about rock-pooling here is that there is a huge tidal reach but (and this is where I went wrong last time I went in 2017) it's not just about going as far out as you can. In fact, it's as much about getting as low as you can. So yes, you'll see more on the lower tides but that can still be quite close to the shore. This is where I went wrong last time, legging it out as far as I could, I spent so much time worried about getting cut off, that I barely found anything.
I had at least 44 lifers on this trip, the majority of these coming from the rock-pools. So here, in no particular order are some of the amazing things we saw. I am starting with the nudibranchs and other sea-slug like creatures as they are the thing I have become most obsessed with! First up above is Facelina auriculata, a new one for me and the only one we found (at Green Island). Only about 5 mm long. Who needs to watch science fiction when there is an alien world on your doorstep?
I was very pleased to find five Edmundsella pedata! At both Green Island and La Rocque. I found this last year on the Isle of Wight and this was the sea-slug I found the most on this trip. Again, all only about 5 mm long on the underside of rocks.
A lifer for me was the huge Warty Doris Doris verrucosa. Karen spotted the first one by finding the egg mass (image below).
Just one Aeolidiae filomenae at Green Island.
I am definitely getting better at spotting nudibranchs. This one at Ouaisne was so inconspicuous at first when I turned the stone but it soon unfurled. I believe this is the star-ascidian-eating Goniodoris castanea. I saw one of these at Kimmeridge Bay last year but this was a much larger animal. It might not be that bright but the shape of the thing is incredible. Like a snow plough crossed with a WW1 tank. I was pleased with five species of nudibranch for this trip.
There were quite a few Yellow-plumed Sea Slugs (Berthella pulumella) about but I didn't photograph them and I believe these things are Lamellaria perspicua (a sea-slug like snail). I have seen this at the Pound in Eastbourne but again I am pleased to be getting better at spotting them. Close-focus binoculars are pretty useful in rock-pools.
Now for the other molluscs. When I turned a rock shortly after starting to find FIVE Green Ormers under it, my mind was blown. This is a huge, fast-moving mollusc and a real Channel Island speciality. I could not get enough of their weird beauty. I reckon I saw 50 of these on Saturday 21st, which was one of the lowest tides of the year.
Key-hole Limpet (Diodora graeca) was a long-overdue lifer too. Quite different to what I was expecting with the key-hole itself mostly obscured, the shell covered in debris and the mantle rising up around the base of the shell.
Anemones were pretty amazing too but my favourite was the Parasitic Anemone. We found two of these, really quite large.
And this one was the Trumpet Anemone. Thanks to Nicolas Jouault for his help with some identifications and gen for La Rocque and to John Walters for his gen too.
I am rather out of my depth with sponges and tunicates but I was told this one was Sea Strawberry (Aplidium elegans).
I am pretty sure this large sea-squirt was the Yellow-ringed Sea Squirt Ciona intestinalis.
And this thing was the size of a hand! It was huge. This must surely be the amazingly-named Neptune's Heart Sea Squirt Phallusia mammillata. That hand belongs to Tim Ransom by the way, I'll come back to Tim in the blog about the terrestrial stuff when I get some time. We had a great few hours yesterday morning looking at the marine stuff. Even on a rubbish tide, La Rocque is incredible just a few hundred metres out from the beach.
My only sponge tick was these orange-sized blobs I believe to be Tethya citrina. There is so much more there that I am not even attempting to ID.
Now for the worms. Karen spotted the first one of these huge worms but it shot in when she touched it. We found another though, easily disturbed if you are not quiet. This is Sabella spallanzanii. Listed as the Feather Duster Worm on the UKSI but called the Mediterranean Fan Worm on iNaturalist. This is my greatest issue with iNaturalist, the use of non-standard or Americanised English names for species. However, it was very good at seeing what people had been recording locally on the island, especially so when you have left most of your books at home. I wish iRecord could be as slick as iNaturalist for features like this. Thanks again to Nicolas for pointing this feature out though.
Nearby, the Twin Fanworm (Bispira vilutacornis) was a real looker. Yet another lifer.
We only saw two of these, but very pleased to finally catch up with Candy-striped Flatworm. This was a tiny one, spotted using the close-focus binoculars (barely 5 mm long).
Now for the crustaceans. So less than an hour into rock-pooling, we saw the most amazing thing but it got away. Perhaps the most brightly-coloured crustacean I have ever seen. With a little help, it was clear that what we saw was an immature of a Spiny Squat Lobster. Quite different to what the adults look like. Gutted I didn't get a photo though but what an experience seeing this red, orange, blue, yellow and white thing darting around our feet!
An incredibly attractive species this one but I was sad to realise it was a non-native. This is the Asian Shore Crab. Quite common higher up the shore.
There were lots of spider crabs about. I think this one is Macropodia deflexa but I was running out of time here and didn't get as many shots as I would have liked.
And this one is a mystery to me. It was much bigger than all the other spider crabs that I saw (the commonest seems to be Leach's Spider Crab (Inachus phalangium). This was almost twice as big with huge claws with a distinctive shape. I can't see anything that matches in "Shallow-water crabs". Is it just a large male Inachus phalangium? Those pincers are huge! EDIT: Thanks to Nicolas, it's a large male Pisa tetraodon.
And finally, the fish. I think the fish list for the week was nearly 14 species and three of these were lifers. I was surprised at how common Connemara Clingfish was! What a gorgeous fish this is.
Yesterday I found two Giant Gobies at La Rocque, which was also a lifer but no photo. Here is a Ballan Wrasse, we also had a Corkwing yesterday, as well as three species of blenny. Too much stuff to photograph.And on the way back, I saw Blue-fin Tuna from the ferry near Alderney! No photo though, they were quick. As was the ferry.
It was pretty amazing. I couldn't drag myself away from the sea. I even overcame my fear of being in the water. I bought a snorkel and mask and went out with Bouley Bay Diving Centre who were great at helping me overcome my fears. After 10 minutes I got my breathing and heart-rate down and absolutely loved it. I didn't want to come out. A huge thanks to them for this. I am already planning on a buying wet suit for more snorkelling action more locally. I even had a shave, so that my mask wouldn't fill with water (always one of my big fears with this being a contact lens wearer). I got close to Pollack, Montagu's Blenny and Two-spot Goby here but it was much harder to use my camera than I was expecting!
So that's it for now, part two will be some time next week now as I have lots to do back home. Here's Karen and I on the way back enjoying the sunset. I will not be waiting another seven years before I go back to the Channel Islands. It is amazing!
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