Cerberilla sp. 8
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Aeolidiidae
PHOTO
Baie des Citrons Beach, Noumea, New Caledonia. 5 metres, 29 April 2005. Photo: Cedric Mitel.
Authorship detailsRudman, W.B., 2005 (May 1) Cerberilla sp. 8 [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/cerbsp8
Related messages
Re: Cerberilla sp 8. from Arabian Sea
June 5, 2009
From: Patrick Aristobil-Adele
Concerning message #22495:
I found this nudibranch at the Pipeline in Nelson Bay. It was crawling fairly rapidly across the sand but gave me enough time to take a few snapshots.
I am new to the forum and to underwater photography however I am developing a keen interest in marine species such as nudibranchs. I was encouraged to post this message by David and Leanne Atkinson who have been an invaluable help in teaching me how to locate small marine organisms and how to photograph them.
I would like to know if this particular Cerberilla sp. has been photographed in New South Wales before.
Locality: Nelson Bay, 6m, NSW, Australia, Pacific, 08 February 2009, Sandy Bottom. Length: Approx. 4 mm - 5 mm. Photographer: Patrick Aristobil-Adele.
Patrick Aristobil-Adele.
tadele@tpg.com.au
Dear Patrick,
I am glad the Atkinson's encouraged you to send these photos, because it is an interesting find. Cerberilla sp. 8 has possibly been photographed in New South Wales, or some other part of Australia before, but I am not aware of it. I have found it in New Caledonia, and as you know, we have a recent record from the Arabian Sea. I am beginning to wonder whether this is a colourful form of Cerberilla incola which is know only from southeastern Australia and is rather a dull coloured, quite small species. I noticed in your animal that the cerata have a black band along each edge of the cerata, just as in C. incola. Perhaps that species is a juvenile of your much more colourful animal.
Over the years, numbers of Cerberilla incola - always small - have turned up in samples taken by ecologists from various bays and harbours along the coast of New South Wales. Perhaps they are juveniles which have settled from plankton drifting down from warmer waters? I guess what we will need to do is try and find some smaller Cerberilla sp. 8, or larger C. incola to see if we can find some intermediate colour forms. As I have said before, we know very little about most species of Cerberilla because they spend most of their life hidden in the sand.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Cerberilla sp 8. from Arabian Sea
May 27, 2009
From: Dragan Petkovic
Concerning message #13689:
Dear Bill,
I believe this should be another record of Cerberilla sp. 8, this time from the other side of the ocean. There was an explosion of red algae at the time, so this guy was crawling extremely fast (for a nudibranch) over red algae trying to get to the sand. I know of another record from the same area, few years back.
Locality: Khor Fakkan, 18 m, UAE, Arabian Sea, 30 May 2008, Sand. Length: 40 mm. Photographer: Dragan Petkovic.
Dragan Petkovic
machodiver@gmail.com
Petkovic, D., 2009 (May 27) Cerberilla sp 8. from Arabian Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22495Dear Dragan,
It is indeed a long way from New Caledonia to the Arabian Sea but your animal certainly looks the same
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Cerberilla sp from New Caledonia
May 2, 2005
From: Yves Gillet
Dear Sir,
Here is a nudibranch I can't identify. Maybe it's a Cerberilla sp. The picture is by my friend Cedric Mitel. We found it in five metres, the 29 of April 2005, at the Baie des Citrons Beach, in Noumea (New Caledonia). It was 1 cm, and was moving very slowly.
Thank you very mutch to help us to identify this nudibranch.
Yves Gillet
pym@mls.nc
Gillet, Y., 2005 (May 2) Cerberilla sp from New Caledonia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13689Dear Yves,
Yes this is a species of Cerberilla, but it's not a species I recognise from the colour pattern. These animals are probably much more common than we think, but because they spend most of their lives burrowing in sand - at least in daytime - they are not often seen. I'll call this Cerberilla sp. 8 on the Forum.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
