Cadlina sparsa
(Odhner, 1921)

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Chromodorididae

PHOTO

San Miguel Island, Channel Ids, California. July 2004. Photo: Bruce Wight.

This species is translucent white with a scattering of slightly raised, rounded mantle tubercles. There is a submarginal band of large mantle glands which are usually a milky yellow colour, but in some animals are brown, or partly brown. Like other species of Cadlina there are also microscopic glands scattered all over the mantle. Originally described from Juan Fernandez Island, Chile as Juanella sparsa, it has since been reported from various localities around southern South America (Schroedl, 2000 – from nthn Argentina to central Chile). It is also known from southern California and Baja California, Mexico (Bertsch, 2003). At present it is not known of there is a continuous population from California down the Pacific coast of South America. I grows to approximately 35mm in length.

References.
• Behrens, David W. (1991) Pacific coast nudibranchs. Sea Challengers, Monterey, 107 pp.
• Bertsch, H. 2003. Cadlina sparsa [in} Slug Site, M.D. Miller. Available at http://slugsite.us/bow/nudwk367.htm
• Marcus, Ernst. 1959. Lamellariacea und Opisthobranchia. Reports from the Lund University Chile expedition 1948-1949, No. 36. Lunds Universitets Arsskrift (Ny Foljd), Avd. 2, 55(9): 1-133.
• Odhner, Nils HJ. 1921. Mollusca from Juan Fernandez and Easter Island. In: C. Skottsberg (ed.), Natural history of Juan Fernandez and Easter Island 3 (22): 219-254.
• Schroedl, Michael. 2000. Revision of the nudibranch genus Cadlina (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia) from the southern ocean. Journal of the Marine Biological Association, U.K., 80: 299-309.
• Rudman, W.B. (1984) The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: a review of the genera. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 81: 115-273.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2004 (August 2) Cadlina sparsa (Odhner, 1921). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/cadlspar

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