Lophodoris danielsseni from Norway - first photos

Dear Kåre,
You can be as bold as you like when you are sending in interesting photos like this. Yes this is Lophodoris danielsseni. Your photos are almost identical to Henning Lemche's wonderful water colours which were not published until after his death (Just & Edmunds, 1985). The only difference is that in his paintings the tips are a bright yellow rather than the creamy yellow of your animals. The strange creamy yellow swellings on the gills and the similarly shaped and coloured posterior mantle edge papillae, suggest they have evolved for some function. Perhaps they are glandular, or perhaps they mimic something?

Apart from the short video on Jussi Evertsen´s website, I think these are the first photos of this species which have ever been published.

Of particular interest to me is their food. Most goniodorids feed on bryozoans and a few on ascidians, but we now know that one genus, Trapania, specialises on species of the Entoprocta, a phylum previously considered part of the Bryozoa.  By chance I have recently seen a review article on the fauna associated with the burrows of Echiuran 'worms' and there is a reference to a Brazilian species which has a host of associated animals, including Lophodoris scala, and two species of Entoprocta, on which the Lophodoris feeds. [check that species for references]. So there is always the possibility that Lophodoris danielsseni also feeds on entoprocts. The little stalked zooids are not the easiest to see, but it would be worth checking out for them if you are lucky enough to find Lophodoris again.

By the way I note you photographed these animals only a few days ago. Correct me if I am wrong but isn't it freezing in your part of the world at the moment.?

• Just, H, & Edmunds, M. 1985. North Atlantic nudibranchs (Mollusca) seen by Henning Lemche, with additional species from the Mediterranean and the north east Pacific. Ophelia Suppl. 2: 1-170.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman