Phidiana milleri
Rudman, 1980

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Glaucidae

DISTRIBUTION

Auckland, New Zealand [no other details available] Photo: Michael C. Miller

The animal is translucent with orange-red tinging the head region. There is opaque white pigmentation on the upper half of the oral tentacles, the upper third of the smooth tapering rhinophores, and the leading edge of the foot and tentacular anterior foot corners. There can also be a white line or series of spots down the dorsal midline of the foot from the end of the cerata to the posterior tip.

The cerata wall is transparent except for a subapical white cap. The digestive gland is usually a dark red.

This species is common intertidally and in the shallow sublittoral throughout New Zealand and is often found on the 'mussel beard' hydroids growing on the green lip mussel Perna canaliculus. Its anatomy was fully described by Miller (1974) as Phidiana militaris. It can grow to at least 40 mm in length,

  • Miller, M.C. (1974): Aeolid nudibranchs (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) of the family Glaucidae from New Zealand waters. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 54: 31-61.
  • Rudman, W.B. (1980) Aeolid opisthobranch molluscs (Glaucidae) from the Indian Ocean and the south-west Pacific. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 68: 139-172.
Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2010 (April 15) Phidiana milleri Rudman, 1980. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/phidmill