We Can’t Get Enough Chocolate!

Ceratosoma Gracillimum Semper Hammerhead Nudibranch

Approximately 30 minutes south of Malapascua is a dive site known as Chocolate Island. If you ask the local staff why the site is named ‘Chocolate Island’ you will be offered various responses from “The island looks like chocolate” to “The Island used to make chocolate.” None of these stories are true, and the genesis of the site’s name remains a mystery.

But one thing about the island we do know for sure. It is a macro heaven! On any given day, you can see anything from frog fish (hairy and ‘plain’), ornate ghost pipe fish, blue ring octopus, flamboyant cuttlefish, squid, nudibranchs, seahorse, and sooooo much more.

Every dive at Chocolate Island is like Christmas – you never know what you will get, but you are sure to walk away excited about what you have seen.

For me personally, nudibranchs are the highlights of this site. Of course you have the usual suspects, such as Nembrothinae and Chromodoris but there are so many unusual species that it really drives home that Malapascua and our neighbourhood is RIGHT in the centre of the coral triangle of marine diversity. In the last 6 months diving Chocolate Island I have seen various species of nudibranch that I have never seen before.

Here are just a few of them:

Melibe Viridis: This creature is extremely difficult to describe – in short, it looks like a yellowish/greenish/brown glob of jelly 😉 You can find loads of these funny looking things at Choco.

Melibe Viridis

Aplysiomorpha, also known as Sea Hare. Before witnessing this creature for myself, I had a guest describe to me “I saw a flying nudibranch! It had a skirt!” When I finally saw it with my own eyes, I knew exactly what she had seen. This photo is a courtesy of Andy Cornish, who captured it “flying” at the right moment. Thanks Andy!

Aplysiomorpha-Sea-Hare

Another creature that I saw for the first time in Malapascua is called Chelyonotus Semperi. This one actually falls outside the nudibranch family as it is actually a mollusk and believe it or not it has a hard shell on the inside. These can be found in dark blue or green, and its exterior resembles a camel back, as it features several humps on its back. (This photo is courtesy of google, as I could not snap a good pic…)

Chelyonotus Semperi

Ceratosoma Gracillimum Semper (I think). Gino, our DM guide and I call this a “hammerhead nudi” for its cross-shaped body. So cool!

Ceratosoma Gracillimum Semper Hammerhead Nudibranch

This creature is called Gino Superdiveguidus and can also be found underwater quite often, usually followed by lots of happy Evolution divers.

Aside from his keen eyes, his trim is the best I’ve seen among all the dive guides I’ve ever dived with. He is just one of our awesome trio of local guides, or Team JAG (JoJo, Alex and Gino)!

Gino Evolution Diving Resort

These are just a few examples of amazing life that can be found at Chocolate – make sure you get on a trip to Choco Island on your next visit to Evolution!

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