Several months spent on a small island in south-east Sulawesi, Indonesia helped to hone my skills for finding small critters. I was placed in-charge of nudibranch (sea slug) surveys and species counts as this was a marine conservation project. During this time I found several species of sea slugs that had never been found in these waters before and thus extending their geographic range. One species was previously only known from Hong Kong and another from the southern African coast. In addition to range extentions I found several individuals that exhibited unusual colouration for more well known species.

During this four month period I also found several species that appear to be new to science. When found on a dive the nudibranch, which would frequently measure 3-8mm, would be helped into a flooded film canister and brought to the surface to be photographed, drawn and ecological observations recorded. For legal reasons the preserved specimens never made it out of Indonesia which has hampered their full scientific description. The photographs have since been sent to an opisthobranch expert, Bill Rudman, based in Australia who has used his vast knowledge to try to identify these unknown species. These can be seen by searching Richard Smith at www.seaslugforum.net