Nudibranch ID

This one was so small it felt impossible to get a shot of

(this image is a serious crop)

At first glance I thought it would just be a juvenile 'branch (like Chromodoris epicuria) then I saw this extra bit.

(Please excuse the lack of sharpness, this is actual pixels from a 12MP image )

... so I went back to the shots I took and found one with a better angle on the head.

It was on a bryzoan, Orthoscuticella ventricosa, in around 30m depth, Jervis Bay.

Any ideas appreciated

Leander

Leander, I love the fact you're going after all this micro stuff.

It's a dorid in family Goniodorididae, isn't it? Do you think it was feeding on the bryo? Rather than click on every goniodorid on the Sea Slug Forum I did a quick search for Orthoscuticella to see if that would lead to the branch id. Dead end - a couple of Janolus species feed on another species of Orthoscuticella but nothing's listed as feeding on O.ventricosa. Definitely one to send Bill for his opinion.

Leander, I love the fact you're going after all this micro stuff.

Its so fascinating! I can't help it

It's a dorid in family Goniodorididae, isn't it? Do you think it was feeding on the bryo? Rather than click on every goniodorid on the Sea Slug Forum I did a quick search for Orthoscuticella to see if that would lead to the branch id. Dead end - a couple of Janolus species feed on another species of Orthoscuticella but nothing's listed as feeding on O.ventricosa.

It was moving a bit quick to be feeding IMHO. But thats just from seeing other nudis when the are scoffing

Speaking of feeding nudis I got this Nembrotha having a great feast ... its well known to love ascidians, but it made me think of a kid with a lollypop as big as itself

Maybe this is Gonodoris sp. 1 perhaps?

Definitely one to send Bill for his opinion.

I don't usually get an answer ... that's why posting them here is so much more fun & interesting!

Gonodoris sp 1? Sounds good. Color's a little off but with only 2 animals found we don't know how variable it is. The other Gonodoris are ascidian feeders so my search was doomed from the beginning.... glad you did better.

Great picture - the colors in that beast are just saturated. Imagine wearing an outfit like that!

I've noticed that behavior shots, feeding reports, & nudis from under-documented parts of the world get up faster on SSF than straight requests for id.