Conga lines of brown nudis in California

November 14, 2001
From: Celeste Fowler

A month or two ago we saw large numbers of a type of nudibranch we hadn't seen before. Basic body plan of a sea lemon (rough surface, cirri on the front, gills on the back) except smaller (about an inch long) and brown/tan mottled coloration, almost camouflaged. What was interesting is that they were out in droves. Mainly following each other in lines, but in some places they looked like some kind of 70's shag carpet. Never seen that before!

Monastery Beach in Monterey, California at around 70 feet on coarse sand near a rocky reef. Couldn't find them in Sea Challengers!
Any hints?
Thanks much!
Celeste Fowler

celeste_fowler@yahoo.com

Fowler, C., 2001 (Nov 14) Conga lines of brown nudis in California. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5665

Dear Celeste,
If it looked like a typical dorid [sea lemon = Anisodoris nobilis] then this trailing behaviour is not one I would normally associate with most dorids. If you had said a Sea Hare, I would not have been surprised. But I have no personal experience of peculiar Californian behaviours so I will wait for a reply from our colleagues from that part of the world.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Nov 14). Comment on Conga lines of brown nudis in California by Celeste Fowler. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5665

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