Noumea laboutei in the Red Sea?

November 6, 2002
From: Dean Lea

Hello Dr. Rudman,
I have just come back from a very enjoyable weeks diving in the Red Sea and while on a night dive on the wreck of the Thistlegorm, found a tiny (~6mm) nudibranch. It was at a depth of 18m, on a section of iron decking sparsley covered in the filamentous algae. Unfortunately I had not taken my camera with me (how predictable!) and so have no image to offer you; however, I have made an extensive search through your excellent species list and my mental image most closely resembles that of Noumea laboutei. It's species page states that it can be found in the Indo-Pacific and possibly the Indian Ocean, so would it be beyond the realms of possibility to also find it in the Red Sea? If not, can you think off-hand of any other species it may have been? I understand the information I have supplied is hardly exhaustive, but any help you may provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

Kind regards,
Dean.

dean@lea.com

Lea, D., 2002 (Nov 6) Noumea laboutei in the Red Sea?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8353

Dear Dean,
The known possibilities are compared on the Noumea flava colour group page. That is not to say you didn't see an unknown yellow species. Why I noted that Noumea laboutei possibly occurred in the Indian Ocean is that there is a photo in Debelius (1996) from the Seychelles of this species. If anyone has photos of this species from any locality other than New Caledonia I would be very interested in hearing of it.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Nov 6). Comment on Noumea laboutei in the Red Sea? by Dean Lea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8353

Factsheet

Noumea laboutei

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