Noumea sp. 3.
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Chromodorididae
PHOTO
Curphy Reef, near Crowdy Head, northern New South Wales, 18m. September 1998. Approx 1cm long. PHOTO: Erik Schloegl.
See message below.
Authorship detailsRudman, W.B., 2000 (April 2) Noumea sp. 3. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/noumsp3
Related messages
Re: Unknown nudibranch from northern NSW
April 23, 2000
From: Carol Buchanan
Hi Bill
here are the photos you asked about in reply to my earlier message. I have found this animal on 3 occasions, always at Split Solitary Island. [off Coffs Harbour, nthn New South Wales, Australia].
I have attached scans of the 3 specimens. Details are:
UPPER RIGHT: sometime in 1986, no other details recorded
LOWER LEFT: January 1988 at 18 metres
LOWER RIGHT: December 1989 at 21 metres
Regards
Carol
cbimages@turboweb.net.au
Dear Carol,
Thanks very much. From your upper photo, and Erik Schloegl's photo it looks like it prefers this one species of sponge.
Bill Rudman.
Re: Unknown nudibranch from northern NSW
April 17, 2000
From: Carol Buchanan
Hello Bill
I've also found Erik's beast. I have images from Split Solitary (off Coffs Harbour, northern NSW) of a 7mm specimen found in about 18metres
Regards
Carol Buchanan
cbimages@turboweb.net.au
Buchanan, C., 2000 (Apr 17) Re: Unknown nudibranch from northern NSW. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2277Thanks Carol,
What would be very useful is a scan of one of your slides and an approximate date (month/year). It would then be a valuable record for anyone studying the species in the future.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
Re: Unknown nudibranch from northern NSW
April 7, 2000
From: Erik Schloegl
Dear Bill,
To reply to your query, yes, the Noumea sp. 3 that I photographed at Curphy Reef was found on the sponge in the photo - I didn't move it.
By the way, I checked my photo collection and found that I have photographed the same species at a divesite called "The Arch" at Bateman's Bay in southern New South Wales on October 4, 1999. The depth was 18m, on rocky reef. Again, the animal was about 1cm long, though this time it did not appear to be feeding (sorry, I haven't scanned the photo).
Best regards,
Erik
schloegl@maths.uts.edu.au
Schloegl, E., 2000 (Apr 7) Re: Unknown nudibranch from northern NSW. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2229Thanks Erik,
Definitely another one I would like to see some specimens of.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
Unknown nudibranch from northern NSW
April 3, 2000
From: Erik Schloegl
Dear Bill,
This photograph was taken on September 7, 1998, at Curphy Reef, not far from Crowdy Head in northern New South Wales, at a depth of about 18m. This nudibranch was approximately 1cm long. Do you know the species?
Best regards,
Erik
schloegl@maths.uts.edu.au
Schloegl, E., 2000 (Apr 3) Unknown nudibranch from northern NSW. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2157Dear Erik,
No I don't recognise this animal. It looks as though it is probably a species of Noumea. Was it found on the sponge it is photographed on? If so it is a quite interesting find. Most chromodorids feed on relatively soft sponges which lack skeletal spicules. One species endemic to New South Wales, Hypselodoris bennetti, feeds on a sponge, Psammocinia sp (Thorectidae, Dictyoceratida) which has a skeleton consisting mainly of sand grains. If your animal was living on the sponge inthe photo, it also looks like one with a sand-grain based skeleton.
best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
