Black-margined Nudibranch
Doriprismatica atromarginata
Ocellate Phyllidia
Phyllidia ocellata
About
Look closely at a lump of orange-brown sponge on the reef and you might find this small nudibranch, a shell-less sea slug, hiding in plain sight. It grows to about 6 cm and carries a scatter of pale, stalked knobs across its back, dotted with black rings like a hand-painted pattern.
Also known as: eyespot phyllidia, eyed phyllidia
- Length
- 6 cm
- Depth
- up to 35 m
How to tell it apart
This species is easily confused with several other Phyllidia sea slugs. The exact ring pattern described above, not the colour or tubercles alone, is what sets it apart from its look-alikes.
Appearance
The body, or dorsum, is orange-brown and covered in large white or grey stalked tubercles (raised bumps). These run in a line from between the two sensory horns on the head, called rhinophores, back to the tail, with smaller tubercles scattered near the mantle edge. Four black rings sit symmetrically around tubercles in the middle of the back, and a single ringed tubercle sits just in front of the rhinophores. Large individuals may show two extra black patches or ringed tubercles near the tail. The rhinophores themselves are orange-yellow.
Log it in Into the Blue
Describe what you saw and we name it, then keep every species you find in your Oceandex.
