Verconia varians
Philippines · Indo Pacific - South China Sea
- Size
- 19 mm · max 25 mm
- Depth
- 3–30 m
- Native range
- Indo-West Pacific to the central Pacific, including the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, southern Japan, Guam, New Caledonia and Hawaii.
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Description
A small, variably coloured chromodorid nudibranch; the name refers to its variable appearance. Like several other chromodorids it habitually vibrates its gills and flaps the front of the mantle as it crawls.
Share link: https://seaslugs.org.il/species/verconia-varians-phillipines-indo-pacific-south-china-sea/
Identification
Translucent pink-orange to rose-red or purplish body with a white mid-dorsal stripe (continuous or broken) from between the rhinophores to the gill. Mantle margin white to yellow with a magenta submarginal line. Rhinophores and gills tipped magenta to purple.
Similar species
An undescribed Hawaiian Verconia (sp. 4) has a paler notum, broader mid-dorsal stripe and lacks the magenta-tipped gills.
Habitat & diet
Habitat
Moderately exposed rocky reefs, 3–30 m.
Food
Not recorded; like other chromodorids, presumably sponges.