Melibe maugeana
Burn, 1960

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DENDRONOTINA
Family: Tethydidae

DISTRIBUTION

Known from South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania in southern Australia

PHOTO

attached to some kelp floating in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, Australia. 30 November 2002. Photo: Christine Walsh

This species has the typical body shape of Melibe with a large oral hood and a few large cerata down each side of the body. The oral hood has a single row of relatively long papillae along the edge, and the cerata are long and cylindrical or fusiform in shape. The body is translucent, almost transparent, in colour, with scattered opaque white spots at the tip of small pointed papillae on both the body and the cerata. Burn (1957) describes 'general body colour transparent pale yellow or orange, longitudinally lined with bright yellow streaks, everywhere flecked with red dashes. Apices of first pair of cerata usually red'. I can find no yellow colouration in the attached photo, but I must assume this is the same species. I know of no other illustrations of this species other than the original black & white drawing. See photos of probable juvenile from Tasmania in attached message

Originally named Melibe pellucida, Burn later discovered this name had been used by Bergh (1904), and renamed it M. maugeana (Burn, 1960).

References:
• Burn, R.F. (1957) On some Opisthobranchia from Victoria. Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia, 1: 11-29, Pls 1-3.
• Burn, R.F. (1960) New names for two Victorian opisthobranch molluscs. Journal of the Malacological Society of Australia, 1(4): 70.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2002 (December 2) Melibe maugeana Burn, 1960. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/melimaug

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