Chromodoris africana (Zavora, Inhambane). This species is part of a complex in need of revision where other “species” imaged here are also part of (e.g. Chromodoris hamiltoni, Hypselodoris regina, Chromodoris elisabethina)

Chromodoris cf. elisabethina (Zavora, Inhambane)

On the 27^th January we left the subtropical latitudes and moved into the tropics where we established our base-camp in the town of Vilanculos overlooking the Bazaruto Archipelago Natural Park – a string of six islands surrounded by coral reefs. Regrettably a spiral of bureaucracy and administrative complications made impossible to obtain the necessary collecting permit to sample in the pristine reefs of the Natural Park. Alternative good sampling sites were not that easy to find and the weather conditions also didn’t help much with strong winds and some rain, resulting in a very choppy sea. We decided to move back south one day before scheduled and spend two days in the village of Paindane with great tidal and inshore reefs housing an extraordinary diversity of slugs. Here we sampled both at night- and day-time and was impressive to see the faunal differences between these two periods of the day.

Heading for snorkeling during spring tide in a tidal reef in Zavora.

On the 2^nd February we travelled back to the village of Zavora where we had meet for the beginning of the campaign. We spend the last three days sampling in Zavora a truly hot spot for marine slugs; the diversity in the tidal and subtidal reefs exceeds anything I have experienced before. My colleagues from the Zavora Marine Lab have already registered the occurrence of nearly 200 species in these reefs and even so we managed to add to the list a few more!

Sorting the catch on the beach in Vilanculos with the Bazaruto Natural Park on the back scene

Overall, about 80 species were collected during our fieldtrip but the identification of several of them requires now detailed study and will integrate ongoing projects at the Natural History Museum of Bergen.

Chromodoris tennentana (Zavora).

Hypselodoris nigrolineata (Zavora, Inhambane)

Hypselodoris nigrostriata (Zavora, Inhambane)

Goniobranchus cf. tinctorius (Vilanculos). This is part of another complex of species in need of systematic study

Nembrotha purpureolineata (Zavora).

Flabellina rubrolineata (off Benguerra I, Bazaruto archipelago).

Protaeolidia cf. juliae, a cryptic nudibranch on its prey species of sea-fan coral.

Micromelo undatus (Zavora). Presently at the University Museum we are revising the systematics of this species regarded as cosmopolitan but likely made up of three or four morphologically very similar lineages.

On the road between Vilanculos and Paindane at 90km/h…!

Chromodoris hamiltoni (Barra reefs, Inhambane, Mozambique)

A sand flat lined with mangroves and coconut trees (Barra estuary, Inhambane, Mozambique)

The tropical Indo-West Pacific harbours the highest diversity of marine life in the World with many species still undescribed. In the region, the eastern coast of Africa is one of the less studied areas and few opisthobranchs gastropods have been recorded in Mozambique with a coastline of 2,700 km stretching across sub-tropical and tropical latitudes.

Heading for sampling on a sand flat with seagrass (Barra estuary, Inhambane, Mozambique)

Together with colleagues from the Zavora Marine Lab (Mozambique) I will be surveying the southern part of Mozambique between the village of Zavora – approximately 500 km north of the border with South Africa – and the tropical archipelago of Bazaruto. This 3-weeks fieldtrip (16 Jan–6 Feb) is part of an effort to document the diversity of opisthobranchs at a global scale and to understand the biogeography and speciation patterns of these molluscs.

After a couple of initial days in Zavora we headed north to the region of Inhambane, famous for its aggregations of manta rays and whale sharks where we spent about a week sampling for the far most spectacular sea slugs!

Roboastra gracilis (Paindane, Inhambane, Mozambique)

A species of sacoglossan (Placida sp.) found inside the “bubble” algae Valonia sp where it lives and feeds from.

Pupa solidula (Barra estuary, Inhambane, Mozambique)

Phyllidia marindica (Barra reefs, Inhambane, Mozambique)

Philine aperta (Barra estuary, Inhambane, Mozambique)

Hypselodoris rudmani (Barra reefs, Inhambane, Mozambique)

Hypselodoris regina (Barra reefs, Inhambane, Mozambique)

Hypselodoris maridadilus (Barra reefs, Inhambane, Mozambique)

The flamboyant cephalaspidean species Hydatina physis (Zavora, Inharrime, Mozambique)

Halgerda wasinensis (Barra reefs, Inhambane, Mozambique)

Glossodoris cf. plumbea (Barra reefs, Inhambane, Mozambique)

An undescribed species of Doris nudibranch (Barra reefs, Inhambane, Mozambique)

Costasiella kuroshimae, a sacoglossan that lives on the green algae Avrainvillea sp. (Barra estuary, Inhambane, Mozambique)

Traditional Mozambican family housing with huts arranged in a circle around a communal central area