Plocamopherus maculapodium
Philippines · Indo Pacific - South China Sea
- Size
- 15–25 mm
- Native range
- Indo-West Pacific: Zanzibar (type locality), Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Japan and the Marshall Islands.
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Description
A small bioluminescent polycerid dorid described in 2006, named for the black spots on the sides of its foot. It shelters under rocks on shallow reefs.
Share link: https://seaslugs.org.il/species/plocamopherus-maculapodium-phillipines-indo-pacific-south-china-sea/
Identification
Reddish brown with minute white dots, mostly in a line along the mantle edge that joins behind the gills and runs down the back to the tail. Dark brown to black spots on the paler, yellowish sides of the foot. Three pairs of white lateral processes, the last pair tipped with a white globular knob; rhinophores reddish brown with a white tip; gill tips dark brown.
Similar species
Plocamopherus pilatecta has a very similar red, white-dotted pattern and is separated mainly by internal anatomy; P. ceylonicus is yellowish with brown blotches.
Habitat & diet
Habitat
Shallow lagoon and reef flats, under rocks.
Food
Arborescent (branching) bryozoans.