Conualevia alba from Monterey, California

March 22, 2007
From: Jeff Goddard

Hi Bill,

Here are some photos of Conualevia alba Collier and Farmer, 1964 collected by Anthony Draeger last October from 7 m depth off Monterey, California. This species ranges from Monterey south to the Galapagos Islands, and is usually found under rocks, where it preys on unidentified demosponges (personal observations). It has smooth, tapering rhinophores, small, evenly spaced notal papillae, and large white defensive glands around the notal margin. Like some other dorids consistently found feeding under rocks (e.g. Crimora coneja and Limacia cockerelli ), it lays its thin egg ribbon flat, rather than on edge like most other dorids. The eggs averaged about 89 microns in diameter and hatched as typical planktotrophic veligers with shells about 150 microns long. In a separate message [#19684 ] I describe this species' unusual, elongate polar bodies.

Locality: Monterey, 7 m, California, USA, Pacific Ocean, October 2006, subtidal. Length: 11 mm. Photographer: Jeff Goddard.

• Behrens, D. W. & A. Hermosillo. (2005). Eastern Pacific nudibranchs. Sea Challengers, Monterey, California
• Collier, C. L. & W. M. Farmer. (1964). Additions to the nudibranch fauna of the east Pacific and the Gulf of California. Transactions San Diego Society Natural History 13, 377-396.
• Camacho-Garcia, Y., T. M. Gosliner & A. Valdes. (2005). Field Guide to the sea slugs of the tropical eastern Pacific. California Academy of Sciences, San Francisco, California.

Best wishes,
Jeff

goddard@lifesci.ucsb.edu

Goddard, J.H.R., 2007 (Mar 22) Conualevia alba from Monterey, California. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19683

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