Lyme Regis - Back
Central Lyme Bay has a silty seabed, the predominant
rock being blue lias limestone with beds of clay that produce
a cloudy silt. Parts of the seabed are composed of thick mud,
other areas consist of fine gravel swept in broad ripples
by wave action. In other areas the seabed is flat bed rock
scattered with boulders or raised into reefs. Depths lie between
20 and 30 metres. In recent years interest has focussed on
the ecology of the pink sea fan Eunicella Verrucosa, a gorgonian
(soft coral) that grows in profusion on some of the reefs.
The fans align themselve broadside on to the current and can
be seen in strong tides to be shaking gently. They have a
natural predator, a tiny sea slug or nudibranch. known as
Tritonia that is perfectly camouflaged whilst feeding on the
fan's polyps.
Another interesting species found relatively
recently is the Sunset cup coral which exists in profusion
on some underwater cliffs at depths of 25 to 30 metres. The
coral is brightly coloured enough to stand out even at depths
where most colours have been filtered out.
Some species in the bay are at the limits of
their distribution or exist abundantly in a relatively small
number of areas such as the Trumpet Anemone (Aiptasia) or
the Blackfaced Blenny. Both these species are found in the
Mediterranean.
Cushion Star |
Dahlia Anemone |
Diver examining Trumpet anemones |
Snakelock Anemone |
Diver swimming over Common Starfish |
Diver and sea fan(Eunicella Verrucosa) |
Rootmouth or dustbinlid jellyfish (Rhizostoma
pulmo) |
Plaice |
Stinging jellyfish (Cyanea lamarckii) |
Dahlia anemone (one of several colour
variations) |
The rare Paraerythropodium (relation of
the Deadman's Finger, a soft coral) |
Sunset coral (leptosammia pruvotii) |
Seafan on a boulder |
Diver with Ross (a form of bryozoan or
sea mat) |
Sea fan close up |
A solitary hydroid (Corymorpha) |
Axinellid sponge |
Blackfaced blenny |
Common prawn |
Compass jellyfish (Chrysaora hyoscella)) |
Corkwing wrasse |
Common Goby |
Leopard spotted Goby |
Rock Cook |
Hermit Crab |
Jewel anemones (Corynactis) |
Serpulid worm |
Cuttlefish Eggs |
Sagartia anemones |
Sea Fans on Blue Lias bedrock |
Spider crab camouflaged with sponges |
Sunset cup corals |
Tompot Blenny |
Strawberry anemone |
Gymnangium montagui (hydroid) |
Sunset cup coral |
Diver and white plumose anemones on the
wreck of the Gibel Hamman |
Closeup of Leopard spotted goby |
Male cuckoo wrasse |
Cuttlefish |
Wrecks
Angie Glanvillr on the Royal Adelaide, off Chesil Beach
at Portland |
Philippa Glanvill on the Royal Adelaide |
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Wreckage of a WW II landing craft off Chesil Beach
not far from the Royal Adelaide |
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On the submarine wreck M2 off Portand |
On the M2 |
On the M2 |
Remains of the crane used for lifting the plane stored
in a hangar on the M2 |
On the M2 |
The prow of the M2 |
The M2 |
The M2 |
The M2 |
On the wreck of the St. Dunstan, an upturned dredger
off Abbotsbury in Dorset |
Warwick Saunders on the St. Dunstan |
Inside the bows of the St. Dunstan |
St. Dunstan |
Dredge mechanism cogs |
The propellor of the St. Dunstant |
The propellor of the St. Dunstant |
Dredge mechanism cogs |
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John Dory on the James Egan Lane |
Divers on the James Egan Lane |
Inside the James Egan Lane |
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South Devon
Sea fan off the Mewstone |
Red Seafingers (Alcyonium glomerulatum) |
Hand Deep reef near the Eddystone
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Hand Deep |
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