Palio nothus
(Johnston, 1838)

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

DISTRIBUTION

British Isles north to Arctic Circle and across to Nth America (Picton & Morrow, 1994)

PHOTO

under Mumbles Pier, Swansea, UK. Feeding on Bowerbankia sp. October 2002 Photo: Helen Marshall.

Dark brown to olive green body with pale translucent brown or clear conical tubercles. The lamellate rhinophores and tripinnate gills (numbering up to 5) are translucent with a brownish tinge. The frontal margin of the mantle is slightly bilobed and bears a number of short, fingerlike, pale brown papillae. Larger, club-like, pale papillae are clustered on the mantle edge, alongside the gills. The sides of the body are similar in colour to the mantle, the tubercles being lower and rounded in shape. This species has often been confused in the literature with Palio dubia. It grows to 20mm in length and feeds on species of the arborescent bryozoan Bowerbankia.

Reference:
• Picton, B.E. & Morrow, C.C. (1994} A Field Guide to the Nudibranchs of the British Isles. 143pp. Immel Publishing: London.
• Thompson,T.E. (1988) Molluscs: Benthic Opisthobranchs (Mollusca: Gastropoda). E.J.Brill / Dr W.Backhuys. 356pp.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2003 (June 5) Palio nothus (Johnston, 1838). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/palinoth

Related messages

  1. Palio nothus from Lundy Island, Devon, U.K.
    From: Judith Oakley, September 12, 2008
  2. Palio nothus from Wales
    From: Helen Marshall, June 5, 2003

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