Marine life profile
Nudibranch
Recorded at 2157 dive sitesWhere divers encounter it
Explore Nudibranch around the world
It moves slowly across its food source, following chemical trails that are invisible to a diver.
Meet the species
What to look for
How to Recognize It
A shell-less sea slug whose exposed gills, sensory rhinophores and extravagant colors reward close inspection.
How It Behaves
It moves slowly across its food source, following chemical trails that are invisible to a diver.
Special Ability
Some species recycle stinging cells or defensive chemicals from their prey and store them for their own protection.
Dive responsibly
Share the water well
How to Approach
Perfect your buoyancy and observe from above without touching the animal or the surface supporting it.
Safety
Many invertebrates are fragile, venomous or irritating to skin. Keep hands, fins and equipment clear.
Worth knowing
The detail you remember
Interesting Facts
The extraordinary colors may provide camouflage, advertise toxicity or imitate another better-defended animal.
Where to Find
Look closely on reef walls, coral heads, sand, seagrass, jetties and shaded overhangs.
Known countries
Sightings map
Nudibranch locations
Plan a dive
Dive sites with reported encounters
Aldermen Islands
New Zealand
The fantastic Aldermen Islands, named by Captain Cook himself in 1769, a popular dive site situated near the picturesque town of Tairua, on the Coromandel Peninsula, with underwater scenery to rival the Poor Knights. With over 30 dive sites to choose from, including the fantastic Honeycomb Caves, there is something for every level of diver to wonder at, nudibranchs, crayfish, stingrays, dolphins, seals, turtles, marlin and the occasional visit by Orca’s together with the myriad of fish found in these waters, diving these here will provide memories to last a lifetime. With the spectacular Marine Reserve at nearby Gemstone Bay in only 8m of water, it really is possible to dive ‘Narnia’.
Blairgowrie Pier
Australia
Blairgowrie Pier is a fantastic site for photographers, due to the abundant macro life. It's also a popular training site, due to its sheltered position and manageable depth range (2-7m). The pier pylons and sea wall are heavily encrusted with sponges - home to many Seahorses and Nudibranchs - even the odd Tasselled Anglerfish. Ledges and hidey holes make great homes for numerous species of Rays, as well as Octopus, Squid and Giant Cuttlefish. You can also see Stargazers, Flathead, Decorator Crabs, Goatfish and many others. Blairgowrie Pier often hosts the annual Giant Spider Crab march in May-June each year. Thousands of crabs gather in the shallow waters to moult.
Confetti Bay
Mauritius
A firm favourite in the North, a shallow dive site with a slight drop off to a max of 30 m. An ideal training site for PADI Open Water Divers, or a PADI Search and Recovery Specialty, Fish ID, Naturalist or PADI Advanced Open Water Course! So many schools of fish to swim with and enjoy stunning visibility and beautiful colour. Great for macro.
St. Didier Wreck
Turkey
St Didier has been sunked by an English aeroplane in 4th of July 1941 durin WW2. The ship whose real name was "Saint Didier", is lying right under the buoy which is an untired guard of the Antalya yatch harbour, 1 km away from there. With her bow looking to south and stern looking to the north, she is lying between 18 and 34 meters with an 35 degrees angle to the starport side. Her length is around 70 meters. In the studies done between 1946 and 1974 , they salvaged the skeletons and a lot of the ship's cargo. There is nothing much left as an artifact in the wreck becase of the later dives where everyone took some part of the wreck as a souvenier. But still she is getting the interest of the wreck divers.
The Zenobia Wreck
Cyprus
The Zenobia Wreck is one of the top ten wreck dives in The World, as voted by divers each year. She sank on 7th June 1980, and rests on her port side between 19m and 42m. MS Zenobia was a Swedish built Challenger-class RO-RO ferry 172m long, and sank with over 100 vehicles and lorries. Engineers discovered that the computerized pumping system was pumping excess water into the side ballast tanks due to a software error. It has become a haven for a range of fantastic marine life. The outside of the wreck has much to see with the 2 massive props, roro doors, the lorries on the outside, funnels, bridge, cafeteria, the bow area and the accommodation. The Zenobia is the perfect location to complete your Advanced Open Water course. Additionally the Zenobia has amazing technical diving routes where you can hone your technical skills and complete some of your technical diving courses there.
Back Door
Cambodia
The dive site Back Door is a massive reef stretching all the way from Mpai Bay village around the north-western side of Koh Rong Sanloem island. The reef is consisting of large boulders in the shallow part of the dive and a little cliff like overhang where lucky divers can often spot Cobias and schooling Baraccudas. Because if the size of the reef, one may do dozens of dives and always find new things to explore.
Casino Point Dive Park
United States
One of the most popular dive sites in North America is well worth the acclaim. Featuring enchanting kelp forests, ever-changing marine life and convenient entry, the Casino Point Dive Park is a site you will want to visit again and again.
Clement's Reef
Malaysia
Located North to North West of Gaya Island, slopping bottom with diverse hard coral and soft coral
Drop Off
Philippines
Rising dramatically from the depths of 150 meters to kiss the surface, these twin pinnacles offer one of the most exhilarating dives in the Philippines. Only their coral-encrusted tips break the surface, hinting at the explosion of marine life that thrives below. What makes this site truly unforgettable is its crystal-clear visibility and the exhilarating drift when the currents pick up — and they can get powerful! On the southern side, you’ll descend along a breathtaking vertical wall that drops deep, while a plateau at around 10 meters features intricate ridges and fascinating rock formations. This is a dive where anything can appear. Cast your eyes into the blue for schooling tuna, jackfish, and the occasional cruising ray. Along the wall, you’ll be surrounded by clouds of orange anthias and butterflyfish, with every crevice home to critters like blennies, lionfish, pufferfish, moray eels, nudibranchs, and so much more. It's an underwater spectacle that never disappoints.
El Natural
Puerto Rico
Beach Dive with both a shallow and a deep drop off to 40 m. Many types of sponges and invertabrae. Excellent DPV dive to deep wall using EANX30
Gabr el Bint
Egypt
Gabr el Bint ranks among one of the most attractive sites of North Sinai. With the access by boat, 4x4 or by camel, it is less frequently dived than the other dive sites in Dahab which has left this site in pristine condition. Gabr el Bint means 'The Grave of the Girl' in Arabic. There are two dives possible here. The ledge is riddled with exquisite coral heads that attract numerous reef species, including swarms of anthias, scorpionfish, parrotfish, crocodilefish, surgeonfish, triggerfish, trumpetfish, stingrays and very often a turtle. At the end of the ledge usually is home to a shoal of black and white snappers and twinspot snappers hang here between 5m and 10m. One of the truly breathtaking dives in Dahab.
Gordon's Bay
Australia
Gordon's Bay is renowned for its accessibility and year-round appeal for divers and snorkelers. The calm conditions and a maximum depth of 14 meters make it a popular spot for all levels of divers. Gordon's Bay is famous for the underwater nature trail, a 600-meter path marked by a chain that guides you through the site. The trail leads to "The Wall," which is home to many Port Jackson sharks and Wobbegong sharks. Along the nature trail, divers also commonly encounter the famous Blue Groper, a local legend and a favorite among divers. Photos by Aquatic Imaging Australia.
Mike's Maze
Sint Maarten
Part of the Man of War Shoal Marine Protected Area. It starts at approximately 40 feet (12 m) and boasts healthy coral formations and numerous maze-like swim throughs, passageways wind around coral heads, through arches and over bridges. This location is where the Nature Foundation conducted one of its coral reef restoration projects. Common critters: Many of the 60 TWA fish species! French Angelfish, schooling Chubs, Spiny Lobster, & Foureye Butterflyfish, Elkhorn Coral formations, Special guests: Spotted Eagle Rays, Squid, Caribbean Reef Sharks, Nurse Sharks, Sexy Shrimp in anemones, staghorn coral formations
Nunn's beach is a swimming beach, with easy access via a board walk. This dive is parallel to the Breakwater Wall, 20 to 50m off the wall. Swim due East and from 4m onwards, signs of reef appear. looking around these reef systems, you may find Weedy Seadragons, Shaw's Box fish, Angel Sharks, Fiddler Rays, Reef fish, Nudibranchs, sponges, soft corals and false corals. The reef systems can be sparce or prolific, depending on how far off the Breakwater wall you are. Best dived on a Westerly or Southerly wind and low swell for the best visibility. This area can be dived all year round, take a dive float and flag, as this is open sea and boats move through the area.
Rye Pier
Australia
Rye Pier is one of Melbourne's best know and most-loved shore dive sites and is a great day or night dive. It consists of an L-shaped pier roughly 500m in length, under which lives a whole lot of exciting marine life. Depth ranges from 2 - 6m. Growth has encrusted the pylons, so there's plenty to see. Rye Pier is the easiest place to see Seahorses in the world! Common sightings here include octopus (Sand, Blue Ringed, Maori and Keel, among others), cuttlefish, giant smoothrays, seahorses, leatherjackets, calamari, dumpling squid, goatfish, as well as Giant Spider Crabs in their thousands and large schools of salmon and pike in the right season.
Shallow Blinders
South Africa
A short swim from the shore in Plettenberg Bay lies a trio of pinnacles that is a photographer’s paradise! This large reef is home to many fish species and is a nursery in the summer months. Summer also brings the ragged-tooth sharks to this reef; however pajama sharks, leopard sharks and puffadder shy sharks are spotted all year round. Sightings of rays, cuttlefish and boxfish on the swim out are common and nudibranchs, octopus, sea spiders and scorpion fish inhabit the reef itself, making it ideal for macro photography.
Stonehenge
Thailand
Stonehenge is a superlative dive site and must be considered one of the top scuba spots in Thailand. Stonehenge is located only 5-10 minutes from Koh Lipe by boat and is full of Soft Leafy Coral making it a beautiful and vibrant reef. Generally you will see schools of Barracudas, Trevally & Yellow Snappers. Smaller creatures include Seahorses, Shrimps, Crabs, Nudibranchs, Seamoths, Stonefish & Frogfish. As this site is very exposed, strong currents can be expected, meaning diving here around Full or Black moon is not usually possible.
Tiger Port
Maldives
Tiger Port is an amazing location where you're able to see a large number of full-grown sharks including Tiger sharks, Bull sharks, Hammerheads, spinner sharks. Divers must have at least Open Water Diver certification to dive at this exciting and unbelievable location, Dive with experienced dive guides to practice safety protocols. SMBs are a must at this dive site as it is a high boat traffic location and safety should be the highest priority. 10 minutes by boat ride from Male' to the dive site.
Zamami Island
Japan
Head South to go deep or run along the shoreline. Bottom is a mix of reef and san bottom. Not abnormal to see a few turtles in the area. Plenty of fish and eel. As well as an occasional reef shark.
’écomusée sous-marin
France
The underwater eco-museum is made up of 6 submerged statues near the southern shore of Sainte-Marguerite Island, at a depth of 3 to 5 meters.
Abu Dabour
Egypt
The nearby jetty can be used to enter this dive or you can enter from the shore through a very nice small canyon leading you to the clear blue water. This dive starts with a sloping sand bottom where you can choose to head to the north or south reef.
Abu Rashid Drift
Oman
Just 1 hour away from Khasab harbour, is Abu Rashid drift. This site can go to 50+ metres. The strength of the currents can vary from very slow to very fast depending on the tide timings and conditions.
Abwonderdive House Reef
Indonesia
This shore dive ranges from 5m to 30m, featuring a coral reef starting at 3m with soft and hard corals. Artificial reef structures lie between 15m and 18m. The current is usually mild to moderate, making for a manageable dive. The surface is generally calm but can be choppy from May to October.
Adabanko Reef
Turkey
One of the most famous dive site in Kuşadası, it is about 1.5/2 km from the shore, the depth starts from 5 meters. Dive north and you come to the edge of the reef, where you have a free descent to 15 meters after which you can eventually reach a depth of 40 meters.