Notodoris citrina
Bergh, 1875

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: ANADORIDOIDEA
Family: Aegiretidae

DISTRIBUTION

Tropical Indo-West Pacific.

PHOTO

off Anse Vata, between Île aux Canards & Rocher a la Voile, Nouméa, New Caledonia, 12-13m, 15 October 1988. 35mm long alive. PHOTO: Bill Rudman.

Notodoris citrina is a common western Pacific species. Adult animals are uniformly yellow and can be distinguished from other species of the genus by their lack of black pigmentation, although, as discuused in messages below, juveniles appear to have black rhinophores. It can also be distinguished by the position of its gills, which are about one-third of the way down the body from the anterior end. In other species of Notodoris, the gills are approximately midway down the body. The body is rigid and leathery to touch, the thickened skin being toughened with tiny spicules. Small irregular pustules cover the upper surface of the body. The rhinophores are smooth, simple. And realtively small. Notodoris citrina grows to approximately 60mm in length. It is generally found on coral reefs from the low intertidal to about 40m in depth. It is commonly reported to feed on yellow calcareous sponges of the genus Leucetta.

References:
• Bergh, L.S.R. (1875). Neue Nacktschnecken der Südsee. 3. Journal de Museum Godeffroy, 3(8): 53-100 (185-232).
• Marshall, J.G. & Willan, R.C. (1999). Nudibranchs of Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef. A survey of the Opisthobranchia (Sea Slugs) of Heron and Wistari Reefs. Backhuys Publishers, Leiden, The Netherlands, 257 pp.
• Wells, F.E. & Bryce, C.W. (1993). Sea slugs and their relatives of Western Australia. Western Australian Musum, Perth. 184 pp.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2003 (July 11) Notodoris citrina Bergh, 1875. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/notocitr

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