Striped Phyllidiopsis

Appearance

This nudibranch has a blue-white dorsum with four longitudinal black lines interspersed with raised ridges. It is a small Phyllidiid, growing to about 20 mm in length. There are sometimes black spots in the region between the outer black lines and the edge of the mantle. The rhinophores are lemon coloured or white. It is similar to "Phyllidiopsis annae" except for the colour of the rhinophores, which are black in that species. "Phyllidiopsis phiphiensis" is also similar but has three instead of four longitudinal black lines on the mantle.

Distribution

This species was described from China. It has been reported from South Africa, Réunion, the Maldives, Malaysia, the Philippines and the Great Barrier Reef, Australia.Rudman, W.B., 1999 [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney.

Food

This species feeds on a sponge.