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Martadoris limaciformis

2023 · Photo: Boaz Liebes

Martadoris limaciformis (Eliot, 1908)

Philippines · Indo Pacific - South China Sea

Size
⁦10–20⁩ mm · max 50 mm
Depth
⁦2–15⁩ m
Native range
Indo-West Pacific, from the Red Sea (type locality, Sudan) across the Indian Ocean to the western and central Pacific, including Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia.

Description

A small, elongate, slug-shaped polycerid nudibranch (the name means 'slug-shaped'). Originally described as Nembrotha limaciformis from the Red Sea, it was later moved to Tambja and in 2017 to the genus Martadoris.

Share link: https://seaslugs.org.il/species/martadoris-limaciformis-phillipines-indo-pacific-south-china-sea/

Identification

Deep saffron-red to bright orange body, either nearly plain or with yellowish-white to cream spots and tubercles on the back and sides. Rhinophores are saffron-red with a purple spot near the tip, and the 3–5 bipinnate gills have purple tips.

Similar species

Other orange Martadoris and Tambja, such as Tambja kava, look similar; the purple tips to the rhinophores and gills are the key mark.

Habitat & diet

Habitat

Shallow coral reefs, about 2–15 m.

Food

Bryozoans.

Sources (3)
Martadoris limaciformis