Did Maggs realise she was looking at something that could be new to science? Understandably, not at the time.“ To be honest I had to take a second glance, and when I realised it was different to anything I had seen before I thought it must have been one that I had just missed over the years.”
Later at home, she downloaded her photos and realised this was a species she hadn’ t seen before at Lundy. Being an active member of Ilfracombe SAC she makes frequent visits to Lundy Island in the Bristol Channel, an all-round dive location known for its status as a no-take zone, as well as its historic wrecks and friendly seals.
Warming to her detective work, Maggs sent a photo of the nudi to Dr Keith Hiscock, a well-known marine biologist long associated with studies of Lundy. Sensing the photo could be an unknown species, Keith forwarded it to the nudibranch expert, Bernard Picton. His opinion was that the nudibranch is indeed an undescribed species.
So – Maggs has located and photographed a new species of nudibranch in UK waters,
The wreck of MV Robert
the sort of achievement any slug-spotter would envy. But much work remains to be done. She and fellow Ilfracombe members hope to find the serendipitous slug again to take more photos and add to what they have learned.“ I imagine there is quite a bit of research still to be done to actually formally identify it, and we need to find it( or them hopefully) again first,” Maggs says.
Thus far, the novel nudi has evaded further attempts to locate it, but that clutch of eggs raises the hope that it may have somehow established a foothold. For now it remains a compelling challenge for divers visiting Lundy – the opportunity to help identify a new marine species in a place that happens to be a standard bearer for marine conservation. �
Ilfracombe’ s club boat, Neptune
Spider crab on the Robert
The nudi was found in an area of hydroids and red weed
29