Doris sticta
(Iredale & O'Donoghue, 1923)

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

DISTRIBUTION

The species has been recorded sublittorally around South Wales, Lundy and the Scilly Isles. The greater part of its range extends southwards from northern Brittany to Morocco and the Mediterranean Sea (Iredale & O'Donoghue, 1923).

PHOTO

south coast Guernsey, (English Channel, Great Britain (about 49 24 N and 002 38 W)). June 30, 2003. Photos: Richard Lord

The background colour is translucent yellow. The mantle is covered in raised rounded tubercles, up to 3mm in diameter, which are interconnected by a radiating pattern of low ridges. The rounded tips of the tubercles are purplish grey and the complex network of ridges are a translucent white. The rhinophore pockets have a large tubercles on the inside edge and another on the outside. There are a number of similar tubercles around the edge of the branchial pocket. There are about 5 bipinnate or tripinnate gills. The head bears a pair of short, grooved oral tentacles. The front edge of the foot is bilaminate, the upper layer being entire, not notched. This uncommon species is large and conspicuous, reaching 45 mm in length. It was previously known as Doris maculata Garstang, 1895.

References:
• Iredale, T. & O'Donoghue, C.H. (1923). List of British nudibranchiate Mollusca. Proc. Mal. Soc. London, 15(4): 195-200
• Thompson, T.E. (1988). Molluscs: Benthic Opisthobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Brill & Backhuys, Leiden. pp 1-356

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2003 (July 9) Doris sticta (Iredale & O'Donoghue, 1923). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/doristic

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