Hypselodoris nigrostriata feeding

July 2, 2005
From: Colin Ogden

Hi Bill,
A while ago I noticed this tiny nudibranch on a dive here. I took some photo's.

Locality: Sodwana Bay, South Africa. Indian Ocean. Depth: 22 metres. Length: 12mm and 3mm. June 2005. coral reef. Photographer: Colin Ogden

On enlarging them I discovered it was a Hypselodoris nigrostriata actually feeding, but an interesting point was that its extended mouth was just a plain blue colour, with no pattern on it as on other pictures I have seen of it feeding. Also on enlarging the picture I noticed another nudi close by, which I believe is an even smaller creature of the same species, and his pattern is also in the process of developing. Am I correct in my ID, and do they develop their patterns as they grow.
Regards
Colin

 

scubaco@iafrica.com

Ogden C M, 2005 (Jul 2) Hypselodoris nigrostriata feeding. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14181

Dear Colin,
Yes this is H. nigrostriata. As often occurs, the sponge it is obviously feeding on his hidden under a layer of sand and detritus. Most nudibranchs develop their colour pattern as they grow. When they first become small crawling slugs they are a pigmentless and translucent, but grdually they begin to develop the pigmentation characteristic of their species. For this reason it is often impossible to confidently identify juveniles to species level
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Jul 2). Comment on Hypselodoris nigrostriata feeding by Colin Ogden. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14181

Factsheet

Hypselodoris nigrostriata

Related messages

  1. Hypselodoris nigrostriata or H. zephyra from Lembeh ?
    From: Sylvain Le Bris, May 19, 2009
  2. Feeding Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Bali
    From: Supapong Areeprasertkul, October 28, 2008
  3. Re: Hypselodoris nigrostriata from United Arab Emirates
    From: William Messruther, September 22, 2008
  4. Re: Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Gulf of Oman
    From: William Messruther, September 17, 2008
  5. Re: Hypselodoris nigrostriata from the United Arab Emirates
    From: Yahia Mokhtar Hafez, December 6, 2007
  6. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from the United Arab Emirates
    From: Yahia Mokhtar, December 5, 2007
  7. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Mozambique.
    From: David Abecasis, November 22, 2007
  8. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Indonesia
    From: Francois Zylberman, September 27, 2007
  9. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Mauritius
    From: Fabrice Bettex, August 14, 2007
  10. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from the Solomon Ids
    From: Bruce Potter, April 21, 2005
  11. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Thailand
    From: Danny Van Belle, May 20, 2003
  12. Hypselodoris nigrostriata - feeding
    From: Sarah Heaney, March 29, 2003
  13. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Thailand
    From: Bill Rudman, March 21, 2003
  14. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Bali
    From: Danny Van Belle, February 26, 2003
  15. Hypselodoris nigrostriata ? from Bali
    From: Sabine Noack, October 28, 2002
  16. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Sulawesi
    From: Mary Jane Adams, July 10, 2002
  17. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Bali
    From: Stuart Hutchison, July 1, 2002
  18. Hypselodoris nigrostriata? from Lembeh
    From: John Hoover, May 29, 2002
  19. Hypselodoris zephyra? from Japan
    From: Rie Nakano, January 17, 2002
  20. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from South Africa
    From: Valda Fraser, June 8, 2001
  21. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Gulf of Oman
    From: Gordon T. Smith, January 12, 2001
  22. Nembrotha? or Hypselodoris nigrostriata?
    From: Clinton Bauder, June 18, 2000
  23. Hypselodoris nigrostriata? from Papua New Guinea
    From: Wayne Ellis, May 5, 2000
  24. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from Indonesia
    From: Michael Miller, March 5, 1999
  25. Hypselodoris nigrostriata from New Guinea
    From: Wayne Ellis, February 8, 1999

Show factsheet and all related messages