Cerberilla ambonensis found Sthn Queensland

March 23, 2004
From: Gary Cobb

Hi Bill,
Please find attached some photos of Cerberilla ambonensis I found while diving just before a storm at the Mooloolaba Rock wall on a 2m deep sandy area in front of a ledge system the runs perpendicular to the wall [Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast. Queensland, Australia, March 2004]. The animal was found crawling, very quickly for a nudibranch, on sand. I took photos of it on silty sand where it buried itself. What a beautiful animal! Are these common here on the Coast?
Cheers,
Gary Cobb

gary@cobb.com.au

Cobb, G., 2004 (Mar 23) Cerberilla ambonensis found Sthn Queensland. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12501

Thanks Gary,
They are spectacular animals. Can you give us an indication of its size please? I'm afraid we know very little about most species because they spend most of their time burrowing through the sand. It is possible they are nocturnal, appearing only at night, but I know of no evidence for that. You mention seeing it just before a storm. If it was cloudy and overcast then it may have emerged from the sand because light levels were low?

I wonder why such spectacularly coloured animals spend their life where they can't be seen?
Best wishes
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2004 (Mar 23). Comment on Cerberilla ambonensis found Sthn Queensland by Gary Cobb. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12501

Factsheet

Cerberilla ambonensis

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