Noumea protea, the protea dorid, at Vulcan. Photo Peter Southwood.
Noumea protea at Pinnacle, near Gordon's Bay Photo Guido Zsilavecz.
Acanthodoris sp., the fluffy dorid, at Vulcan. Photo Peter Southwood.
The protea dorid, Noumea protea, shown as Chromodoris sp.2 in Gosliner's book, was described from 10 specimens found at Oudekraal in a single collection. We used to find it only on a single sponge at Pinnacles, near Gordon's Bay, and searches on similar sponges, both in the area and in others, have not yielded more. Peter Southwood, on a dive at Vulcan, finally managed to find another one, which is remarkably paler than those found at Pinnacle.
Acanthodoris sp., the fluffy dorid, was only known from 2 specimens found at Buffels Bay, in Gosliner's Book. We started seeing more of them, all along the western False Bay coast, from Long Beach to Castle Rocks and further south. These two specimens, with their egg ribbon, were photographed in much deeper water than we have thusfar seen it, at Vulcan, indicating that it occurs on both sides of the Peninsula.
Nudibranchs of Southern Africa - a guide to the opisthobranch molluscs of southern Africa, T Gosliner, 1987.
Description and revision of some South African Aeolidacean Nudibranchia. TM Gosliner and RJ Griffiths. Annals of the South African Museum, Volume 84, Part 2, July 1981.