Thecacera picta
Philippines · Indo Pacific - South China Sea
- Size
- 10–20 mm
- Depth
- 14–35 m
- Native range
- Indo-West Pacific, from Tanzania and the Maldives to Japan, Australia and Vanuatu.
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Description
A small polycerid nudibranch first described from Japan (Suruga Bay) and now recorded across much of the Indo-West Pacific. Colour pattern varies considerably between regions.
Share link: https://seaslugs.org.il/species/thecacera-picta-phillipines-indo-pacific-south-china-sea/
Identification
Translucent yellowish-white body with bold chocolate-brown bands. Rhinophores sit in tall sheaths, with a crescent-shaped ridge at the outer base of each sheath; rhinophores and extra-branchial appendages tipped orange-yellow. Seven bipinnate gill plumes with orange-yellow pigment and brown veining.
Similar species
Thecacera pennigera differs in colour pattern and lacks the crescent ridge at the rhinophore sheath base; T. vittata is very similar and may be the same species.
Habitat & diet
Habitat
Coral and rocky reefs, 14–35 m.
Food
Not recorded; like other Thecacera, presumably bryozoans.
