Dendrodoris fumata from the Swan River, Western Australia

February 15, 2007
From: Brent Murdoch


Hi Bill,

I am not sure if I have identified this one correctly. It looks the same as the NW Aphelodoris but it was in the Swan River, Fremantle, Western Australia, Indian Ocean  

It was on a muddy bottom at 13 m. 65 mm long, 1 February, 2007. They seem to be quite common as I have seen a few on this dive.

Brent Murdoch.

brent@murdoch.id.au

Murdoch, B., 2007 (Feb 15) Dendrodoris fumata from the Swan River, Western Australia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19427

Dear Brent,

Although in many ways it has similarities to Aphelodoris gigas, which was recently described from Western Australia, your animal the suctorial sponge-feeding dendrodorid, Dendrodoris fumata. It is very similar to forms of  D. nigra, but in that species there are 10 -15 small gills forming a cup-shaped circle around the anal papilla, while in D. fumata there are a few [5? 6?] large gills which expand out to cover the posterior half of the body. The thin yellow 'cylinder' you can see at the front of the gills is the faecal string which has been expelled from the anus. From its colour we can be prety sure it has been eating a yellow sponge - probably the one we can see the left side of the top photo.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Feb 15). Comment on Dendrodoris fumata from the Swan River, Western Australia by Brent Murdoch. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19427

Factsheet

Dendrodoris fumata

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