Thuridilla picta from Cozumel, Mexico

January 6, 2004
From: Paul Osmond

Dear Bill,
Here are some images of Thuridilla picta on its food source during a week of diving in Cozumel, Mexico [Sat 13 December, 2003].

We saw probably as many as 150 during the week - it was simply a matter of finding their food source (the algae/sea grass seen in this image) and then looking carefully to see if any specimans were on it.

They tended to be in about 20m of water, and on the top of the Cozumel reef walls. I didn't see any specimans much deeper than 20m nor any on the actual reef walls in Cozumel despite the abundance of their food source at depth.

Additional images taken of this species during this trip can be seen in my online gallery

Thanks,
Paul Osmond

marriard@deepseaimages.com

Osmond, P., 2004 (Jan 6) Thuridilla picta from Cozumel, Mexico. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/11801

Thanks Paul,
I can't offhand find a reference to the algae this species eats, so your observation may be a new bit of information. Hopefully someone can help us identify it to species.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Factsheet

Thuridilla picta

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