A Melibe? from Papua New Guinea

January 7, 1999
From: Alan M. Grant

A friend of mine has been diving in the Milne Bay area of PNG. He videotaped what appears to be a large (10-15 cm.) nudibranch on a sand/mud bottom, with morphology similar to Melibe leonina, but not as translucent and generally a light sandy brown color. Any ideas without seeing a picture?

Alan Grant
Laguna Beach,
California,
USA.

dentadiv@fea.net

Grant, A.M., 1999 (Jan 7) A Melibe? from Papua New Guinea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/447

Dear Alan,
If it looks like Melibe leonina then it almost certainly is a Melibe as there is no other genus of nudibranchs which looks quite like Melibe. Melibe leonina, from the West Coast of North America, is normally found living on giant kelp plants where it uses its remarkable oral veil/hood as a net to catch crustacea. Most other species are benthic dwellers, but they all have the amazing oral veil. I suspect the species you describe is Melibe viridis [see top of page] but I would need a photo to be sure.
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (Jan 7). Comment on A Melibe? from Papua New Guinea by Alan M. Grant. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/447

Factsheet

Melibe viridis

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