Dirona albolineata
MacFarland in Cockerell & Eliot, 1905

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: ARMININA
Family: Dironidae

DISTRIBUTION

San Diego, California to Alaska.

PHOTO

Cape Arago, Oregon, USA. 35 mm long, collected from the rocky intertidal. Photo: Jeff Goddard.

This delicate and translucent arminacean is an opportunistic predator capable of feeding on a wide variety of prey, including arborescent and foliose bryozoans, small prosobranchs and crustaceans, hydroids and ascidians (Robilliard, 1971; Goddard, 1998, personal observations). Robilliard (1971) observed it tending to specialize on either bryozoans or small snails in two different habitats, depending on which prey item was most abundant.

Dirona albolineata ranges from San Diego, California to Alaska and reaches 180 mm in length (Behrens, 1991).

See message on copepod parasites.

References:
• Behrens, D.W. 1991. Pacific Coast Nudibranchs. Sea Challengers: Monterey, California.
• Goddard, J.H.R. 1998. A summary of the prey of nudibranch molluscs from Cape Arago, Oregon. Opisthobranch Newsletter, 24: 11-14.
• Robilliard, G.A. (1971) Predation by the nudibranch Dirona albolineata on three species of prosobranchs. Pacific Science, 25: 429-435.

[Prepared by Jeff Goddard]

Authorship details
Goddard, J.H.R., 2000 (June 16) Dirona albolineata MacFarland in Cockerell & Eliot, 1905. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet.cfm?base=diroalbo

Related messages

  1. Infested Dirona albolineata from British Columbia
    From: Marli Wakeling, November 25, 2008
  2. Feeding of Dirona albolineata
    From: Jackie Hildering & Glen Miller, March 17, 2008
  3. Re: Parasites on Dirona albolineata
    From: J. Hildering & G. Miller, November 12, 2007
  4. Dirona albolineata mating and spawning
    From: Marcos Perreau Guimaraes, September 10, 2007
  5. Re: Colour variation in Dirona albolineata
    From: Dave Washburn, August 24, 2007
  6. Mating pair of Dirona albolineata
    From: Daniel Hershman, June 5, 2007
  7. Unknown White Nudibranch..looks like an angel!
    From: Sandy Grummon, December 8, 2006
  8. Pink Dirona albolineata from Vancouver Island
    From: Minette Layne, July 7, 2006
  9. Dirona from British Columbia
    From: Avery Bartels, May 20, 2006
  10. Colour variation in Dirona albolineata
    From: Dave Behrens, April 28, 2006
  11. Colour phases of Dirona albolineata
    From: Jan Kocian, April 28, 2006
  12. Dirona albolineata and Melibe leonina
    From: Jackie Hildering and Glen Miller, July 15, 2004
  13. Dirona albolineata from British Columbia
    From: Bruce Wight, October 24, 2003
  14. Dirona albolineata from Carmel, California
    From: Clinton Bauder, July 19, 2003
  15. Dirona albolineata from Canada
    From: Linda Penny, May 30, 2002
  16. Colour variation in Dirona albolineata
    From: Marli Wakeling, December 19, 2000
  17. Colour variations of Dirona albolineata
    From: Marli Wakeling, October 22, 2000
  18. Variation in Dirona albolineata
    From: Marli Wakeling, September 24, 2000
  19. Information on Dirona albolineata
    From: Jeff Goddard, June 17, 2000

Show factsheet and all related messages

Australian Museum Online sections

australian museum onlineabout the museumresearch and collectionsfeaturesexplore