Notaeolidia gigas
Eliot, 1905

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Notaeolidiidae

DISTRIBUTION

Known from McMurdo Sound, the Antarctic Peninsula and South Orkney Islands at depths from 3 - 50 meters.

PHOTO

Locality:  Admiralty Bay, King George Island, Antarctica.  06 February 2003. Photos: Dirk Schories. [www.guiamarina.com/antarctica/]

Notaeolidia gigas grows up to 7 centimeters long and has at and has at least 3 rows of cerata down each side of the mantle edge (more than two hundred on each side).Notaeolidia gigas has been observed feeding on large hydroids, identified as a species of Tubularia. See Notaeolidia depressa for a discussion about the genus.

Note: Photos changed on this Fact Sheet, 16 March 2007, as identity of previous photos [#19612] are problematic.

References:
• Barnes, D.K.A. & Bullough, L.W. (1996). Some observations on the diet and distribution of nudibranchs at Signy Island, Antarctica. Journal of Molluscan Studies 62, 281-287.
• Wagele, H. (1990). Revision of the antarctic genus Notaeolidia (Gastropoda, Nudibranchia), with a decription of a new species. Zoologica Scripta 19(3), 309-330.
• Wagele, H. (1991). The distribution of some endemic Antarctic nudibranchia. Journal of Molluscan Studies 57, 337-345.
• Wagele, H., Bullough, L.W., Barnes, D.K.A (1995). Anatomy of Pseudotritonia Thiele, 1912 and Notaeolidia Eliot, 1905 (Gastropoda: Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchia) from Signy Island, Antarctica. Journal of Molluscan Studies 61, 209-213.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 1999 (February 10) Notaeolidia gigas Eliot, 1905. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/notagiga

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