Dendrodoris warta from Florida
July 10, 2008
From: Geoffrey H. Smith Jr.
Concerning message #21641:
I have been meaning to send you some pictures of a few different nudibranchs I have found over the past several years while I was working on my undergraduate degree in marine biology at New College of Florida. This is one I had almost forgot about, but I found it going through some old photos. I believe it is some type of dorid nudibranch. It was found on the underside of a rock in an intertidal area. I believe the rock was covered in several species of sponges and colonial tunicates. Do you have any idea what species it is, even just a genus would be informative.
Locality: Island Park in Sarasota, 1-2 feet, Florida, United States, Gulf of Mexico, found in 2003 or 2004, intertidal, under rock. Length: approximately 2 inches. Photographer: Geoffrey Smith.
Thanks for any information you can provide.
Geoffrey Smith
geoffreyhsmith@gmail.com
Smith, G.H., 2008 (Jul 10) Dendrodoris warta from Florida. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21670Dear Geoff,
This is Dendrodoris warta which has only been found so far in the southeastern corner of the USA. As you will see from reading earlier messages on the species, it has rarely been reported since it was originally described which is a bit surprising considering the relatively large size it can grow. Maybe its unattractive appearance has meant that it has seldom been photographed by divers.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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