Category: Classification & Naming

The Lurid Limenandra There are six described species of Limenandra (Aeolidiidae family), those aeolid nudibranchs best known and admired for their colourful pattern of concentric circles down the length of the dorsum. Their general distributions (others may be known) are: Limenandra barnosii Carmona, Pola, Gosliner & Cervera, 2014 – Indo-Pacific Limenandra confusa Carmona, Pola, Gosliner

Above – Eubranchus sp. 11. A beautifully coloured undescribed species of this distinctive genus. The authentic “Balloon Animals” of the sea. Have you ever inflated those special sausage-shaped party balloons and twisted them together to make an “animal”? My favourite was the poodle, probably because it was the easiest to make that was recognizable as

THURIDILLA THRILLS Sea Slug Eye Candies That Aren’t Nudibranchs Thuridilla is a tropical and warm temperate genus of sea slug species belonging to the diverse sap-sucking order Sacoglossa. If you are looking for out-of-this-world colour contrasts and combinations to photograph, you need look no further to satisfy that appetite.  The Plakobranchidae family of sea slugs

VEXATIOUS VARIABILITY – No. 4 Mexichromis mariei Mexichromis mariei, (Crosse, 1872) originally described as Goniodoris mariei back in 1872 from a single specimen collected in New Caledonia, can be quite variable in presentation. “This is one of the most variably colored species of dorid nudibranchs in the Indo Pacific. Originally described long ago it has

THE STORY BEHIND A NAME Chromodoris elisabethina Definitive information about the taxonomic history of Chromodoris elisabethina together with some attractive (dare I say pretty) and some not so attractive pictures, but nevertheless informative. A story of misspelling, incomplete descriptions and wrong assumptions based on insufficient material, creating a tangled web of almost incomprehensible complexity that

Above: Doto rosacea, displaying all the standard Dendronotina characteristics –  large rhinophoral sheaths, branching appendages arranged down the lateral sides of the notum and feeding upon hydroids. DELVING INTO DENDRONOTINIDS If you have been reading the NudiNotes and Book Chapters that have been posted so far on NudibranchDomain you will have seen the word dendronotinids

THE ALLURING ARDEADORIS – Some examples of the genus Some nudibranchs are both a delight to find and undemanding to photograph. Every time I happen across a species of Ardeadoris, concerns of composition and exposure just melt away as I enjoy myself, capturing their image in all their glory. Here we have a group of

Ceratosoma trilobatum – Ceratosoma tenue – Ceratosoma gracillimum In No. 3 of this series there are actually 3 species to compare. These 3 are quite often confused and there are good reasons for that confusion. All were described not last century but the century before – the 19th century. All can present in different colour

Mexichromis pusilla – Verconia varians In No. 2 of this series Mexichromis pusilla (Bergh, 1874) and Verconia varians (Pease,1871) will be discussed. Both species were described back in the 19th century and have gone through a couple of name changes. The original genus for both was Chromodoris. There had been much confusion in the literature

Miamira moloch is a large to very large nudibranch of the Chromdorididae Family. It was first described as Ceratosoma moloch in 1988 by Rudman from two specimens, one collected from Heron Island, Central Queensland and the other from North Stradbroke Island, Southern Queensland. At first glance the specimens in the above montage all appear to

Sometimes when reviewing images post-dive it’s easy to overlook an uncommon species if it has a similar appearance to a species that is frequently sighted. We know the common one well but have forgotten about the rarer one that looks similar – The Lookalike. This NudiNote will discuss a not-so-common species – Verconia decussata (Risbec,1928)

Hexabranchus The name says it all. It has six gills – Hexabranchus. The family and genus hold six separate species. The species Hexabranchus sanguineus (sanguineus – blood-coloured) was originally described from the Red Sea. Specimens of that species from that region are not red and white mottled as in the images posted here but are

UNIQUELY UNITED BUT DECEPTIVE DISPLAY The Suctorial Feeding Porostomata Nudibranchs In a previous NudiNote – The Little Scraper – the radula of sea slugs was discussed. Mention was also made of those sea slugs that do not possess a radula. Among the dorid nudibranchs in particular, the radula has only been lost once along their

VIVA VARIATION Change is upsetting    Repetition is tedious.       Three cheers for variation! Mason Cooley Across all of the Sea Slugs there is an almost endless amount of variation. Different shapes, sizes, textures, patterns and colours. We aficionados of the Sea Slugs enjoy all of that variation for it gives us many

Sorting out the True Nudibranchs   The Nudibranchs are but one order, the Nudibranchia, in the informal group that we refer to under the umbrella of Sea Slugs although common and popular usage has seen the term Nudibranchs used incorrectly to refer to all the sea slugs in general. This NudiNote is concerned just with

The true nudibranchs are divided into two suborders – Suborder Cladobranchia and Suborder Doridoidea. Without doubt the most noticeable external difference between the two is in the appearance of the gills. Here we must generalise of course with the dorids having a circle of gill branches around the anus, sometimes presenting as an arc or

Trying to decide to which genus a phyllidiid nudibranch belongs from a photo can be a task of some difficulty. There are some external features that can be used, but these are not always easily observed. Here is a rough external guide boiled down to the basics: Phyllidia – Oral tentacles separate; rhinophores cream, yellow or