Diaulula sandiegensis, Laguna Beach, California

June 12, 2007
From: Tiffany Oberg

I saw these guys while diving Shaw's Cove in Laguna Beach southern California. It was a mid afternoon dive. I was about 30 feet deep when I saw them. You can kind of tell there size by the urchin next to them. I was just wondering if anybody had any ideas on the species.

Locality: Shaw's Cove, Laguna Beach, About 30 feet, CA, USA, Pacific Ocean, 30 April 2006, Sandy with rocky reef. Length: About 1 inch. Photographer: Tiffany Oberg.

Tiffany Oberg

littletiff99@hotmail.com

Oberg, T.A., 2007 (Jun 12) Diaulula sandiegensis, Laguna Beach, California. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19260

Dear Tiffany,

Your species is Diaulula sandiegensis. It is the only dorid on this coast having a white to tan, fuzzy dorum (the fuzz is from the small caryophyllidia - spiculated papillae - covering the surface) and a series of large donut-like circles. A curious phenomenon in this species is that as you go further north, the number of spots seems to increase. This would make a great student project for someone to confirm.

Due to the juxtaposition of the two individuals, head to tail along their right side, I would suspect they are mating.

Best wishes,
Dave Behrens

Behrens, D.W., 2007 (Jun 12). Comment on Diaulula sandiegensis, Laguna Beach, California by Tiffany Oberg. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19260

Factsheet

Diaulula sandiegensis

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