I’ve been looking for you.
That is what I said to myself when I found this nudibranch, a Blue Cuthona (Cuthona caerulea), while diving at Blue Heron Bridge (Riviera Beach, Florida) this week. I had been hoping to find this colorful cutie ever since someone else posted a picture of one last month. Finding it made it worth getting out of bed at 3:45 AM to make the very early high tide at the bridge.
Blue Cuthona (Cuthona caerulea), about 1/2”
My early morning dive with Kar DeGeiso turned up a few more critters I have not seen in a while including a Dwarf Frogfish, a Cornetfish (good spotting Kar!) and an Eveline's Learchis (Learchis evelinae) nudibranch. Add in a some of the usual suspects and you get a great start to your day. You can click on an image to view it full screen and to see more information.
Blue-spotted Cornetfish (Fistularia tabacaria), a young one about 1’ long
Not all of this week’s nature watching took place underwater. We also spent some time at Peaceful Waters (Wellington, FL) and right in our own backyard. Both the spider and the dove are uncommon backyard visitors.
