Dendronotus iris from La Jolla, California

June 10, 2006
From: Regina McLendon

If you're able to ID this little creature I'd so appreciate it as I've looked up all types of nudibranchs and can't find one like this. It's of course a deep orange color with white tips, about 7cm in length and found on the sandy bottom at La Jolla Shores, La Jolla, CA, USA. This photo was taken on a night dive, water temp. around 50 F. There were several other of these that looked to be mating but this is a single picture only. Any info you can give me will be most appreciated.

Locality: La Jolla Shores, about 65 -80 feet, California, USA, Pacific Ocean, 24 May 2006, sand bottom at the Shores near canyon. Length: 7 cm. Photographer: Doug Gueldner.

Thanks,
Regina

reggielamc@aol.com

McLendon, R., 2006 (Jun 10) Dendronotus iris from La Jolla, California. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16812

Hi Regina,

All the divers at "The Shores" are telling me this species is really abundant right now.  This is Dendronotus iris.  The key distinguishing trait is the white line along the edge of the foot, clearly shown in your photos.

This species feeds on tube anemones.  It's quite a sight, or battle, depending on your viewpoint.  With the huge population of slugs I am guessing the anemone population is taking a real hit.

Thanks for the great photos,
Dave Behrens

Behrens, D.W., 2006 (Jun 10). Comment on Dendronotus iris from La Jolla, California by Regina McLendon. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/16812

Factsheet

Dendronotus iris

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