Mac's Ground is a small reef 4.5kms west of Glenelg in 17m of water
This would have to be one of the most spectacular P. daphnoides ever! The number of native bees buzzing around it was amazing 😍
Large aggregation in about 2m depth via snorkel. I estimate there were at least 70, and probably closer to 80-90.Most were mature adults but some older juveniles or immature younger ones were present peripheral to the main aggregation which formed a veritable mound of many individuals over many square metres of benthos.
A common bluebush species in the region.
Nb:edit on 11th Feb 2021:- re the gall in 1st image, see below comment by @insiderelic .
Crotalaria along the Strzeklecki Track near Lindon, South Australia. July 2023.
Asteraceae along the Strzeklecki Track (Strzelecki Desert) near Lindon, South Australia. July 2023.
Cropped version of the image posted earlier from this dive. (When the subject was the abalone shells found under a piece of jetty junk).The subject is now the ascidians that are brown with tinges of pink orange and mauve, and they have dark dull red 'mouths',some with a suggestion of paler red bands . They are epibiotic on this abalone (as are several other life forms but the subject Tunicates dominate).
They may be a known naturally occurring ascidian species,and are similar to several common species coating the lower parts of some jetty piles, however I wonder if they might be an introduced species?
@pewin is this another Herimosa alboventa? First sighting today.
Found at night on Acacia menzelii
Moderately big dense bushy shrub about 1 m high and almost 2 m wide growing in deep shade of moist understory near bank of a quiet billabong within Wirrina Resort access gully road.Some surrounding plants( of other species such as Melaleucas and possibly other genus members but no other bush pea native legumes such as Pultaenea or Dilwynia were present as natural occurrences or planted specimens) may have been planted but the wetland canopy was all naturally occurring Eucalyptus camaldulensis and the aquatic plants included many thriving Water Ribbons with various reeds sedges and rushes around edges)
Old slide transparency scan, location correct, date very approximate.
Note that this image includes a grass Clingfish, which raises the question:do they provide cleaning services to inshore Pipefish. The clustering of around 4 Stigmatopora genus Pipefish so close to the Clingfish makes me wonder.
NB this was a duplicate but I have deleted the original submission, in which I failed to mention the Clingfish.
Solo shore dive at hotspot just north of jetty.
Voucher specimen D.Nicolle 2565.
Several-trunked tree 5 metres tall. Bark rough to small branches, finely fissured, dark grey. Leaves glossy, green. Growing on hilltop with Eucalyptus leucoxylon subsp. pruinosa and E. porosa x E. leucoxylon subsp. pruinosa hybrids.
Found in an oyster monitoring basket at the Cruising Yacht Club of SA. Photo show upper and lower sides of specimen.
Very old slide transparency scan from a dive at Abalone Hotspot in the Investigator Group, Eastern Bight. Taken with Rolleimarin setup at between 20-30m depth on medium relief rock reef with occasional rubble sand and seagrass patches. Exact date and location etc are in my old dive logs and eventually I will review those!!!
This arrangement is shown as I found it. I was the only diver present AFAIK during my time underwater that afternoon but as I entered from new jetty a dive boat was just departing from much further out, and I expect that there were probably plenty of shore based divers entering and leaving via the new jetty during the morning and earlier afternoon, being good weather at this popular dive site. So I don't know if this odd looking arrangement of dead (and live) molluscs is anthropogenic (set up by divers) or a natural scene, perhaps connected to an octopus, bobtail squid or other cephalopod ,eg to attract a mate? I suspect the latter.
The abalone on the rock (upper frame) and the scallop (lower R) are alive and probably incidentally present, both being common on this dive.
But the dead bivalves within other dead bivalves of same species (queen scallops and pipis, the latter being discarded by jetty fishers and present everywhere within casting distance and more, wrt the new jetty plus the occasional trailer boat used for fishing in the vicinity) are clearly the work of an animal, humans and cephalopods being the 2 main contenders.
I'll resubmit the image for each main content species but for now the SUBJECT is the live scallop at lower R.
Something, possibly a worm, mollusc, arthropod or crustacean species, has caused these small but quite distinct ephemeral pools in the sand of the upper beach, at a localised section of beach where at high tide overnight a deeper than usual amount of seawater was transiently sequestered, ie a sandbar effect had trapped water close to the foredune, with some associated longshore channel flows . The images show only the inverted shallow conical remains of what I'm guessing had infaunal organisms buried at the centre of each. I didn't try digging (no tools, little time, low likelihood of success 🤔).
Low tide Mid AM- Wide low gradient high tide beach. Caught in receding tide on mid shoreline. Beach consists of white soft sands with dune backshore. Large rock tide pools on point.
Low tide Mid AM- Wide low gradient high tide beach. Caught in receding tide in rock pool. Beach consists of white soft sands with dune backshore. Large rock tide pools on point.
Images 1-8
Images 1-6
Images 1-10
Images 1-7
Voucher specimen D.Nicolle 6370 & M.E.French (original + F1 seedlings).
True mallee to 2 metres tall. Bark smooth throughout. Adult leaves glossy, dark green. Common on upper slopes between granite domes with Eucalyptus ligulata subsp. ligulata and E. dorotoxylon.
Seedling leaves ±ovate, ±concolorous, dull, light green, non-pruinose, scabrid. Stems terete, densely glandular/hairy.
Not looking at the Alectryon oleifolius, but the vine growing through it. Nearby were free standing ones.
Planted specimen in Adelaide Botanical Gardens on North Terrace. Very mature and very tall.
Voucher observation D.Nicolle 8592.
Trees to 8 metres tall, many individuals several-trunked. No mature fruits in canopy.
Dominant here, forming open woodland with some Corymbia greeniana on pale orange gravelly loam.
More interested in the gall than the plant it's on.
I'd assumed an insect, but could not see any.
Very few viable fruit in the last 2 years. Similar 130km west of here.
Plant is a Santalum lanceolatum.
Tide on rise mid AM - Wide low gradient high tide beach. Caught in receding tide on mid shoreline. Beach consists of white soft sands / rocky point with dune backshore.
Numerous plants in flower on the slopes above Yandinga Falls in the Gawler Ranges NP.
Something like an isopogon,perhaps, but could be a wattle or grevillea or etc etc?!?
Common locally in small understory thickets in slightly damper areas, main canopy is Melaleuca uncinata broombrush and whipstick mallee.
Was having the time of its life eating Alge off the marina
Tide on rise in late AM - high energy beach. Found on shoreline. Beach is composed of coarse, loose, well-rounded, and waterworn rocks. Minimal sand at shoreline and lots of sea wrack at backshore.
FOSSILISED
SUBJECT for ID=the numerous bright yellow tent-shaped things lining the underside of the rock nearer the bottom.When I photographed them(with difficulty in poor light and confined space) I assumed they were small ascidians (e.g.in Pycnoclavella genus) but zooming now suggests egg capsules of some sort of mollusc.Some appear empty,also.
If they are egg capsules I've no idea what type of mollusc makes them,but one or other of the various reef-inhabiting, typically medium to large gastropod snails with solid shells would be my best guess.
After first finding these on 12th June on our Dessert Quandong I am now going to try and raise these new ones collected on the 19th June 2023. I have 3 of them. First thoughts of Sawfly Larvae were proved wrong. So now the thinking is Leaf Beetle.
This larvae is currently 8mm long and has 6 legs at the front only. This is specimen 1
Low tide in AM - Wide low gradient high tide beach. Found on back shore nestled on sea wrack. Uncommon to have 4 petal
My ref E3 Park 20 "the Defender"
River Red Gum - Eucalyptus camaldulensis -
Called Camaldulensis after the Nepalese garden of the Count of Camalduli.
It has numerous indigenous names. Karrawirraparri "Red gum forest river" is the Kaurna name for the River Torrens which bisects the Adelaide Plain. Yita apara is the Pitjantjatjara word for it (probably ssp "arida").
I call this one the Defender. It sits defiantly on the south east corner of South Tce and King William street defending its corner of Park 20 (Blue Gum/Kurranga) from encroachment by cars. It is wider than sedan cars......
River red gums are widespread across Australia (but not Tasmania) and have seven regional subspecies. It is a weed or invasive species in a number of countries where it has been introduced.
Thrives and survives on river and creek banks far into the arid interior.
Here is an interesting story about the Italian Monastery and Camlodli Hermitage by Stephen Murphy
https://www.recreatingthecountry.com.au/
This is what Chatgp alleged "The term "camaldulensis" in Eucalyptus camaldulensis refers to the specific epithet given to this species of eucalyptus tree. It is derived from the word "Camalduli," which refers to a religious hermitage and monastery located near Naples, Italy.
The name "camaldulensis" was assigned to this eucalyptus species by the Italian botanist Vincenzo Riccobono in honor of the Camaldolese monks who resided in the Camaldoli monastery. The connection between the eucalyptus species and the monastery may be attributed to the resemblance of the tree's bark to the gray robes worn by the monks."
Here is a link to Cleland's 1956 paper on its taxonomy.
https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/40965502#page/12/mode/1up
Arnold's 7 page article on the sub species is here
file:///Users/darcyoshea/Downloads/E-camaldulensis_mn201_trees_for_life_2018_ArnoldLuo-1.pdf
City of Charles Sturt is here
My ref E3 Park 20 "the Defender"