"Kim" on 11 September 2015.
Wednesday 21 October 2015
The eastern coastline of the Botany Bay National Park at Kurnell has a number dive sites. While diving around and between the sites it is possible to see a number of anglers of at least two species, painted angler, Antennarius pictus, and a recently described species, red-fingered angler, Porophryne erythrodactylus.
I have only dived at Kurnell since April 2008 and didn't see my first angler until January 2011 when a grey form of the red-fingered angler was pointed out to me by another diver. The grey form of the red-fingered angler has fantastic camouflage and they look just like a sponge, complete with holes. Between January 2011 and August 2013 I would see an individual of the grey form red-fingered angler every few months. They were not seen frequently enough to be considered common but they were obviously around. Their camouflage means they can be easily overlooked.
In August 2013 all this changed. I had a tiny red painted angler, A. pictus, pointed out to me by George Borovskis, a fellow diver. A week later a tiny yellow painted angler was pointed out to me by another fellow diver, Sebastien Landat. Six weeks later I found a tiny orange painted angler right next to an orange form of red-fingered angler. I'd never seen the orange form before. Since then I have found 4 more tiny painted anglers and two more orange form red-fingered anglers and my regular dive buddy, Sheree Papuni, has also found an orange form red-fingered angler. Most of these anglers we've seen over and over again because they don't move very far.
One of the problems with attempting to follow anglers over time is that it is not easy to identify individuals. While there are physical differences between individuals, it is not always easy to discern those differences. This is particularly true for the painted anglers, especially them being so small. Fortunately, when the painted anglers are small they have a very small home range and can be identified by their location. I have noticed that as they grow they tend to start moving and when that happens there's no certain way of identifying that individual if it is found at another location. Some have distinctive markings which helps but others do not.
The differences between individuals of the grey form red-fingered anglers are slightly more obvious but are still somewhat subtle and I'm still working on ways to identify individuals. These individuals seem to move around more thus compounding the problem. The orange form, on the other hand, has algal patches on the body which appear to be different in size and location between individuals. I'm confident that in most cases I can positively identify an individual, even if it moves to another location.
I have given easy names to the regular ones I see not out any sort of sentimentality but simply because it is easier to remember a name and associate it with their characteristics or location than to come up with some sort of obscure naming system.
| Angler | Species | First seen | Last seen | Status | Sightings | Months |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "Kim" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 11 September 2015 | 18 October 2015 | Current | 10 | 1.2 |
| "Nat" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 9 November 2014 | 23 November 2014 | Previous | 3 | 0.5 |
| "Oliver" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 12 October 2013 | 3 August 2014 | Previous | 9 | 9.7 |
| "Big John" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 29 September 2013 | 5 July 2014 | Previous | 18 | 9.2 |
| "Max" | Antennarius pictus | 30 April 2014 | 5 July 2014 | Previous | 6 | 2.2 |
| "Pat" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 28 June 2014 | 28 June 2014 | 1 | ||
| "Alex" | Antennarius pictus | 21 February 2014 | 14 June 2014 | Previous | 14 | 3.8 |
| "Dana" | Antennarius pictus | 16 November 2013 | 5 January 2014 | Previous | 8 | 1.6 |
| "Little Sebastien" | Antennarius pictus | 17 August 2013 | 29 December 2013 | Previous | 12 | 4.4 |
| "Angus" | Antennarius pictus | 12 October 2013 | 29 December 2013 | Previous | 7 | 2.5 |
| "Beverley" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 12 October 2013 | 15 December 2013 | Previous | 6 | 2.1 |
| "Jean" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 3 November 2013 | 15 December 2013 | Previous | 6 | 1.4 |
| "Little Andrew" | Antennarius pictus | 29 September 2013 | 1 December 2013 | Previous | 9 | 2.1 |
| "Robin" | Antennarius pictus | 26 October 2013 | 16 November 2013 | Previous | 4 | 0.7 |
| "Lesley" | Antennarius pictus | 19 October 2013 | 3 November 2013 | Previous | 2 | 0.5 |
| "Earl" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 19 October 2013 | 19 October 2013 | 1 | ||
| "Little Jennie" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 12 October 2013 | 12 October 2013 | 1 | ||
| "Little George" | Antennarius pictus | 10 August 2013 | 25 August 2013 | Previous | 3 | 0.5 |
| "UA201304" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 14 April 2013 | 14 April 2013 | 1 | ||
| "UA201303" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 23 March 2013 | 23 March 2013 | 1 | ||
| "UA201212" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 28 December 2012 | 28 December 2012 | 1 | ||
| "UA201210" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 6 October 2012 | 6 October 2012 | 1 | ||
| "UA201209" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 8 September 2012 | 8 September 2012 | 1 | ||
| "UA201203" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 31 March 2012 | 31 March 2012 | 1 | ||
| "UA201109" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 9 January 2011 | 3 September 2011 | 1 | ||
| "UA201101" | Porophryne erythrodactylus | 9 January 2011 | 9 January 2011 | 1 |
These are the anglers that I am still seeing on a regular basis. As their home ranges are relatively small, I see the same anglers in the same locations dive after dive. While I still see the same anglers, I will keep them in this section. From time to time anglers may move some distance but if found elsewhere and they can be identified they can stay here. If they disappear from their usual location and don't appear somewhere else, I will move them to the Previous Anglers category until they are found again.
I first saw "Kim" on Diversity Rock on 11 September 2015 and it has been seen there since.
"Kim" on 11 September 2015.
"Kim" on 11 September 2015.
These are anglers that have been seen in the past but have either died or moved to other locations and are no longer seen regularly. They may still be around and if a regular location is found, they will be moved back To the Current Anglers category.
"Little George" is a red painted angler, Antennarius pictus, and was found by George Borovskis on 10 August 2013. This was the first painted angler I had seen.
"Little George" on 11 August 2013.
"Little Sebastien" is a yellow painted angler, Antennarius pictus, and was found by Sebastien Landat on 17 August 2013.
"Little Sebastien" on 17 August 2013.
"Little Sebastien" on 6 October 2013 with my finger for scale.
"Little Sebastien" on 26 December 2013 with my finger for scale.
"Big John" is an orange form red-fingered angler that George Borovskis and Kylie Lightlowler found on 29 September 2013. This angler has moved around quite a bit over the time I have been observing it but keeps showing up again.
On 11 September 2015, I found a red-fingered angler that looks a lot like "Big John". The pattern of algae is similar but this one has spots on the body. This may simply be an age thing. I will assume this angler is "Big John" until I can prove otherwise.
"Big John" on 29 September 2013.
"Big John" on 26 October 2013.
"Big John" on 2 November 2013.
"Big John" on 22 December 2013 with my finger for scale.
"Big John" on 21 June 2014.
"Little Andrew" is an orange painted angler, Antennarius pictus, that I found on 29 September 2013.
"Little Andrew" on 7 October 2013.
"Little Andrew" wth my finger for scale
"Beverley" is an orange form red-fingered angler that I found on 12 October 2013.
"Beverley" on 12 October 2013.
"Beverley" on 27 October 2013.
"Angus" is an orange painted angler, Antennarius pictus, that I found on 12 October 2013.
"Angus" on 12 October 2013.
"Angus" on 27 October 2013.
"Angus" on 15 December 2013 with my finger for scale.
"Oliver" is an orange form red-fingered angler that my dive buddy found on 12 October 2013. "Oliver" has moved quite a bit from when first observed.
"Oliver" on 12 October 2013.
"Oliver" on 3 November 2013.
"Lesley" is a red painted angler, Antennarius pictus, that I found on 19 October 2013.
"Lesley" on 19 October 2013.
"Robin" is an orange painted angler, Antennarius pictus, that I found on 26 October 2013.
"Robin" on 26 October 2013.
"Jean" is an orange form red-fingered angler that I found on 3 November 2013. "Jean" appears to be unique, at least among the orange form red-fingered anglers I have seen to date, in that it has a small patch of algae above the larger patch between the eyes.
"Jean" on 3 November 2013.
"Jean" on 3 November 2013.
"Jean" on 17 November 2013.
"Dana" is a red painted angler, Antennarius pictus, that I found on 16 November 2013.
"Dana" on 16 November 2013.
"Dana" on 5 Januray 2014 with my finger for scale.
"Alex" is a cream painted angler, Antennarius pictus, that George found on 21 February 2014. "Alex" has been gradually moving towards The Steps from The Leap.
"Alex" on 21 February 2014.
"Alex" on 26 April 2014.
"Alex" on 18 May 2014.
"Max" is an orange painted angler, Antennarius pictus, that George found on 30 April 2014. I first saw "Max" on 29 June 2014 when it was pointed out to me by PJ.
"Max" on 29 June 2014.
I first saw "Nat" on 9 November 2014 just past the amphitheatre at The Leap. This is the smallest one I have seen so far with a total length between 2 and 3 cm.
"Nat" on 9 November 2014.
"Nat" on 16 November 2014.
These are anglers that have only been seen the one time. If they get seen again and positively identified, I'll move them to one of the other categories.
"UA201109" is an grey form red-fingered angler that was pointed out to me by George Borovskis on 3 September 2011.
"UA201109" on 3 September 2011.
"UA201101" is an grey form red-fingered angler that was pointed out to me 9 January 2011.
"UA201101" on 9 January 2011.
"UA201203" is an grey form red-fingered angler that I found on 31 March 2012.
"UA201203" on 31 March 2012.
"UA201209" is an grey form red-fingered angler that I found on 8 September 2012.
"UA201209" on 8 September 2012.
"UA201210" is an grey form red-fingered angler that I found on 6 October 2012.
"UA201210" on 6 October 2012.
"UA201212" is an grey form red-fingered angler that was pointed out to me by Peter Jaques on 28 December 2012.
"UA201212" on 28 December 2012.
"UA201303" is an grey form red-fingered angler that was found by my dive buddy on 23 March 2013.
"UA201303" on 23 March 2013.
"UA201304" is an grey form red-fingered angler that I found on 14 April 2013.
"UA201304" on 14 April 2013.
"Little Jennie" is an grey form red-fingered angler that Ian Jackson found on 12 October 2013. He actually saw it on two successive dives but I only saw it once and have not been able to find it again.
"Little Jennie" on 12 October 2013.
"Earl" is an grey form red-fingered angler that John Keogh found on 19 October 2013.
"Earl" on 19 October 2013.
"Pat" is an grey form red-fingered angler that I found on 28 June 2014. I looked at the same location on 29 June 2014 but could not find it.
"Pat" on 28 June 2014.
"Pat" on 28 June 2014.