Plocamopherus maderae
(Lowe, 1842)
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: ANADORIDOIDEA
Family: Polyceridae
Subfamily: Triophinae
DISTRIBUTION
Atlantic Ids - Madeira, Canary Ids, Cape Verde Islands
PHOTO
~30 mm long. Gran Canaria Island, Depth: 16 m, Spain. 27 December 2002. Photo: Arthur J. Telle
Typically shaped for a Plocamopherus with three pairs of branched papillae or protuberances along the mantle edge. There is also a 'fin' running along the posterior midline, from the posterior limit of the mantle edge to the tip of the tail, which is used when the animal is swimming but lateral flexion of the body. The animal is translucent yellow with smaller red-brown specks and larger ones of orange. Lowe (1842) mentions that it 'swims like the larvae of a gnat, and is brilliantly phosphorescent'. Grows to about 4-5cm.
References:
• Eliot, C.N.E. (1906) Report upon a collection of Nudibranchiata from the Cape Verde Islands, with notes by C. Crossland. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 7(3): 131-159, Pl.14.
• Lowe, R.T. (1842) Description of a new dorsibranchiate gasteropod discovered at Madeira. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, (10): 51-53.
• Ortea, J. A., & Perez, J.M. (1992) Captura de Plocamopherus maderae (Lowe, 1842) (Mollusca: Nudibranchiata) en los archipiélagos de Canarias y Cabo Verde. Actas del V Simposio Ibérico de Estudios del Bentos Marino. Puerto de la Cruz, Tenerife 22-27 de Septiembre de 1986 (2): 229-235.
Rudman, W.B., 2003 (January 13) Plocamopherus maderae (Lowe, 1842) . [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/plocmade
