Chromodoris obsoleta & C. annulata from Abu-Dhabi, UAE

July 24, 2008
From: Yahia Mokhtar

Concerning message #20841:

While diving on a wreck, I took a picture of a pair of Chromodoris annulata, but when I returned home, I was surprised to discovered a third nudibranch in between. I think this is a Chromodoris obsoleta as the magnified picture would suggest.

Locality: Old Cement Barge, Wreck, 7-10m, Abu-Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Persian Gulf (South), 12 Jul 2008, wreck. Length: 1-2 cm. Photographer: Yahia Mokhtar.

Yahia

yahia@adma.ae

Mokhtar, Y., 2008 (Jul 24) Chromodoris obsoleta & C. annulata from Abu-Dhabi, UAE. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21728

Dear Yahia,

Thanks for this tantalising photo. It's amazing what we find in photos which we didn't see through the view finder. As I mentioned in the message you refer to, we have still a lot to learn about the biology of these animals. I suspect that when we find a group together like this, they have been attracted to their food sponge. But unfortunately, if there is a sponge present, it is overgrown with algae and we can't see it. It reminds me of an earlier message [#12729 ] showing a large cluster of C. obsoleta and one Chromodoris cazae, but no sponge visible. At present we don't know which sponges C. obsoleta, C. cazae or C. annulata feed on. Hopefully you will get lucky and find one or more of them on a sponge which can be photographed.

I see that at least the smaller C. annulata has the purple line linking the two purple circles, which is a pattern apparently unique to animals from your part of the world.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Jul 24). Comment on Chromodoris obsoleta & C. annulata from Abu-Dhabi, UAE by Yahia Mokhtar. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21728

Factsheet

Chromodoris obsoleta

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