Dendrodoris warta
Marcus & Gallagher, 1976

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Dendrodorididae

DISTRIBUTION

Known only from the Atlantic coast of Georgia, USA, and the west coast of Florida.

PHOTO

On an artificial reef, 10 miles off the coast of Clearwater,  Florida, USA. 9+ inches long. 27 May 2005, depth 45-55 feet. Photo: Carol Grant

A large dendrodorid, known from very few records. It was described as having a dark brown background with tan to pinky-beige variably sized tubercles all over the mantle, but the photo here suggests it maybe more variable in colour. Tubercles vary in size, shape and distribution, being quite sparse in small animals and more crowded in larger ones. The rhinophores have a large translucent brown club, with white lamellae and tips, and  adrak brown stalk. The underside of mantle is uniformly lighter than the dorsal surface. The egg ribbon is a ruffled orange spiral. Interestingly the animals reported on by Marcus & Gallagher were found were on oysters (Crassostrea ) feeding on an orange encrusting sponge. It is reported to reach a live length of 12 cm.

  • Marcus, Ev & Gallagher, S. B. (1976) A new species of Dendrodoris from Florida. The Veliger, 18(4): 353-356.
Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2005 (July 10) Dendrodoris warta Marcus & Gallagher, 1976. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/dendwart

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