Nembrotha milleri? from Malaysia

December 15, 2001
From: Paul Jambunathan

Dear Bill
Hello from Malaysia. I belong to a group of very ardent divers who have a passion for the micro world. I need help identifying a nudi I spotted just two days ago. Dive site: Malaysia, Pulau Tioman.
We have, on many occasions spotted the Nembrotha kubaryana and Nembrotha cristata. There are variations in their coloration but they are clearly the ones. The new problem: The 'new' nudi was about 4 inches long( about 10cm). Body: dark green. Gills were black on the inside. Faint black lines running down from the head to about the gills. Antennae were clearly black only. In my books it looks very much like a Tambja. Thus the question on the differences. I would greatly appreciate it if you could also help me identify the one I saw. Very sorry about not being able to supply you with a photo. I haven't got to that stage yet.

Paul Jambunathan

pjambu@imu.edu.my

Jambunathan, P., 2001 (Dec 15) Nembrotha milleri? from Malaysia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5806

Dear Paul,
I think your animal is probably Nembrotha milleri. Have a look at Ian Potter's message from the Solomon Ids for a good photo. Interestingly, both Ian and Mary Jane Adams emtnion finding this species in association with Nembrotha kubaryana and Nembrotha cristata. May be it's because they are relatively common, or perhaps they all like the same food.

Concerning the difference between Tambja and Nembrotha. I am about to get an assistant to help clear the huge backlog of messages on the Forum. Once that is dealt with I am planning to include more anatomical information on these animals. There are no easy external features to separate species of Nembrotha from species of Tambja although there are plenty of internal differences especially in the structure of the gut, including the radular teeth. This reflects their quite different diet, species of Nembrotha feeding on ascidians [also known as tunicates or sea-squirts], while species of Tambja feed on arborescent bryozoans. [See Scott Johnson's message fro a nice photo of arborescent bryozoan].

Please let me know if my identification seems ok
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Dec 15). Comment on Nembrotha milleri? from Malaysia by Paul Jambunathan. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5806

Factsheet

Nembrotha milleri

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