Re: Notodoris serenae from Indonesia
December 24, 2004
From: Douglas Hansen
![](/images/m12749_p6283967a.jpg)
Dear Bill,
We found this dorid in about 10 to 15 meters in a sand and rubble bottom off of Menjangen Island in northern Bali [Indonesia]. This nudibranch was quite large, nearly 10 cm. We have not been able to identify it in any of our books, and were wondering if anyone had an idea of what it might be?
Best wishes
Douglas Hansen
mhel0323@sbcglobal.net
![](/images/m12749_p6283960a.jpg)
Dear Douglas,
This is Notodoris serenae. I've added a few close-ups of parts of your photos as they show some quite interesting features of this quite rarely seen species. In the one above of the gills, I have added arrows to show the three fleshy lobes this species has to enclose, and apparently protect, the gills from nibbling fish. Alongside that photo I have included a close-up showing the half-eaten sponge colony it is feeding on. I guess it is the calcareous sponge Leucetta chagosensis Dendy, 1913 on which it is reported to feed. The photo alongside shows the gills from directly above and you can see the anal papillae (see arrow). In dorid nudibranchs, the gills are usually arranged in an arc or a circle around the anus. This might seems strange, but in their evolutionary past, when they still had shells, the gills and the anus were close together in the mantle cavity just inside the mouth of the shell, and they have remained associated over millions of years.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman
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