Dirona picta from California

November 26, 2008
From: Clinton Bauder

Concerning message #21349:

Hi Bill,
So I don't know how it works in Australia but here in California a stressful day at the office combined with a favorable weather forecast often means it's time to do a night dive. Tuesday's dive at the Monterey Breakwater was most notable for the interesting crabs and shrimps we found, up until the end of the dive when buddy Matt found two Dirona picta. This animal is rather rare in Monterey and I've only seen it once before. They were found in a mat of kelp and sea grass that was floating around on the sand. I'll admit to moving the slugs to the adjacent sand for better photos before returning them to the "salad" kelp.

Locality: Monterey Breakwater, 10 meters, California, USA, Pacific, 18 November 2008, Sandy Bottom. Length: 50 mm. Photographer: Clinton Bauder.

Clinton

gecko1@apple.com

Bauder, C., 2008 (Nov 26) Dirona picta from California. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22072

Hi Clinton,

Great shots, and yes this species is fairly uncommon. The color varies widely from white to brown as in your specimen to green below Ensenada, Mexico. This species feeds on arborescent bryozoans, which were likely rolling around in the soup too.

Thanks for sharing,
Dave Behrens

Behrens, D.W., 2008 (Nov 26). Comment on Dirona picta from California by Clinton Bauder. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22072

Factsheet

Dirona picta

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