|
|
Nudibranch Attacks on the Rise
Long Beach, California. Reported by Gastro Podd
Pacific coast divers report a dramatic increase in the number of unprovoked attacks by nudibranchs. Divers have been left with their hair chewed short, earwax licked out, and sunscreen sucked off. Relatives of the common slug, the creatures are voracious.
| “It was horrible!” says Utahn Brian
Argyle, victim of a recent attack. “It jumped me from a strand of kelp. For 20
minutes it crawled up my arm towards my ear. Thank goodness I ran low on air and surfaced
before it could finish its attack!” In this rare photo at right, Brian Argyle is attacked by an unusually large Spanish Shawl nudibranch. Several onlookers were treated for salt water inhalation when they fell victim to uncontrolled laughing. Divers are cautioned to wear hoods and carry a loaded salt shaker for protection against these giant sea slugs. “And above all,” says noted invertebrate expert Hortence "Spiderlegs" Carapace, “don’t sit still for more than ten or fifteen minutes.” |
|
