We Are So Close To A Winner!

He was first out of the gate with a substantive set of possible answers to The Second, Maybe Annual Malaria, Bedbugs, Sea Lice and Sunsets Ocean Egg Hunt. He second-guessed and revised his answers. He took some sage suggestions from Eric over at The Other 95%. And now he's mere microns from the glory!

Jim Lemire of the blog from Archaea to Zeaxanthol and Coordinator of the Undergraduate Center for Marine Life Sciences at Roger Williams University (my alma mater) is but a single species from a clean sweep. I gave Jim credit for #12 with his answer of a species of Star coral. It is indeed Montastraea, Jim, but it's Mountainous Star Coral.

His correct answers thus far:

1) Southern Keeled Octopus (Octopus berrima)

2) Sergeant Major (Abudefduf saxatilis)

3) Swell shark (Cephaloscyllium ventriosum)

4) Purple Sea Urchin (Strongylocentrotus purpuratus)

5) Lewis's Moon Snail (Euspira lewisii)

6) Common Whelk (Buccinum undatum)

7) Clownfish (Amphiprion negripes)
8) Blue-footed Booby (Sula nebouxii)
9) West Indian Chank (Turbinella angulata)

10) ??????

11) Beluga sturgeon (Huso huso)

12) Mountainous Star coral (Montastraea faveolata)

13) A later developmental stage of Amphiprion nigripes

14) Knobbed whelk (Busycon carica
)
15) Striped blenny (Meiacanthus grammistes)

But while #10 is indeed a nudibranch, it is not Hypselodoris bullocki. I'll give you a hint, Jim: This nudibranch doesn't rhyme with orange.

And since I'm feeling generous, a bonus prize to the first correct species identification for these ocean eggs: