Phyllidia elegans
Elegant phyllidia
Solomon Islands · Pacific Ocen - Solomon Sea
- Size
- 35 mm
- Depth
- to 55 m
- Native range
- Indo-West Pacific, from the Red Sea and Réunion to Japan, the Marshall Islands and Fiji
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Description
A colourful phyllidiid of Indo-West Pacific coral reefs, including the Red Sea. Like other Phyllidia it lacks a radula and feeds on sponges, and its bright colours advertise distasteful chemical defences.
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Identification
Black and pale blue-grey back with uneven ridges and pink tubercles that are often capped with yellow. Rhinophores yellow; oral tentacles pale with yellow tips. The pale foot has a black median line on the sole and black lines on its sides.
Similar species
Phyllidia varicosa and P. tula also have a black line on the foot sole but no pink tubercles or black lines on the foot sides; Phyllidiella species have pink tubercles but no yellow.
Habitat & diet
Habitat
Coral reefs, from shallow water to about 55 m.
Food
Sponges.
