Strange nudi from Milne Bay

Could anyone ID the big yellow spongey looking nudi in the middle? I shot this last year in Milne Bay and was not able to find it in any of my books. While in PNG this year I prerused the library of Walindi and FeBrina, and wasn't able to positively ID it there either, as my knowledge of nudies is rather limited still. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Could anyone ID the big yellow spongey looking nudi in the middle? I shot this last year in Milne Bay and was not able to find it in any of my books. While in PNG this year I prerused the library of Walindi and FeBrina, and wasn't able to positively ID it there either, as my knowledge of nudies is rather limited still. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

Do you have another view of it?

Did it move?

Is this the front?

I also saw these while diving Milne Bay. Unfortunately, I have not been able to identify them either.

It was moving along. I found it while diving from Tawali at "barracuda point" at about 90 feet. Not sure if this is the front or tail now a year later, but I think this might have been the front. I have some more images of this one, which I will port. I think they are shot from a similar angle tho. I won't have access to them until tomorrow as I am at work and the HD is at home. I will post tomorrow morning.

Heres two more. Looking at the time stamps in the EXIF I see that the slug was crawling towards to camera, which indicates that we are seeing the front of the slug (I don't think they would "back up").

and

Heres two more. Looking at the time stamps in the EXIF I see that the slug was crawling towards to camera, which indicates that we are seeing the front of the slug (I don't think they would "back up").

 

 

and

 

You might want to send it to Mike Miller at "the Slug Site" for ID....

Could anyone ID the big yellow spongey looking nudi in the middle? I shot this last year in Milne Bay and was not able to find it in any of my books. While in PNG this year I prerused the library of Walindi and FeBrina, and wasn't able to positively ID it there either, as my knowledge of nudies is rather limited still. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

I searched through all my resources and nothing cam up...

If anything else fails, try www.nudipixel.net. Send your photo to them and let them try to identify it.

Succes...

Thanks Secretsea18 and Robographer!

Nudipixel was not able to ID it, but I took Secretsea18 advise and sent it off to Michael Miller at the Slug Site. Less than a few hours later I received a reply, via Michael Miller, from Terry Gosliner at the California Academy of Sciences. He wrote:

"...I am virtually certain that it is a sea cucumber. I have seen brownish ones like this. I think it is probably a juvenile of Thelynota or something like that."

Interestingly I had photographed some really pretty "adult" Thelenota on the same trip last year, although not at that particular divesite.

Although it would have been far more exciting to have photographed a previously unidentified seaslug, I am still very happy to have an answer to the identity of this weird little critter (meaning I can stop searching now). I am also truly impressed by the awesome resources and fast response and of the seaslug site!

Juvenile sea cucumbers are known to mimic toxic nudibranchs. Here's an example and also juvenile Pearsonothuria graeffei look very similar to the Phyllidia varicosa in your pictures.

look very similar to the Phyllidia varicosa in your pictures.

It's actually a Phyllidia coelestis....sorry, I couldn't resist.

Marli

yeah yeah that's what i meant. obviously

It's ok Nick... it's the presbyopia