Unknown Dorid from Carmel, California

September 17, 2000
From: Clinton Bauder

Hi Bill,

I was doing a Trimix dive today just south of the Pinnacles in Carmel Bay, California. At a depth of 210 feet (64 meters) I encountered a dorid that I don't think I've ever seen before. At first glance it appeared to be just another Anisodoris nobilis or one of the many other "Sea Lemons" we have in California but it didn't look quite right so I took a closer look. As the depth was beyond the rated range of my camera I unfortunately don't have any images of it.

This particular animal was about 75 mm long and bright yellow. It had yellow gills and rhinophores. I vaguely remember the rhinophores as lamellate but I could be mistaken on this point. The dorsum was covered in small tubercles but there were no spots - either light or dark as would be expected in the more common "sea lemons". What made this animal unique to my eye was that the dorsum was edged by a very prominent white line. In some ways it reminded me of a Cadlina luteomarginata but with a reverse color scheme - yellow with a white edge rather than white with a yellow edge.

For what it's worth my dive buddy remebered the edging as having a purple or blueish hue but I suspect that may be an artifact of his HID dive light.

Anybody have any idea what this might have been? Nothing in the Behrens book looks quite right.

Clinton

gecko1@apple.com

Bauder, C., 2000 (Sep 17) Unknown Dorid from Carmel, California. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3031

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