Hedgpeth's Dorid
Polycera hedgpethi Marcus, 1964
Description: 2
Ground color pale greyish-white; dorsum, sides of body, head, and dorsal surface of tail densely covered with greyish-black dots, giving the animal an overall grey-black appearance. Pallial ridge and caudal crest are nearly devoid of greyish-black and may bear a few yellow dots. Tip of tail usually yellow. Frontal veil bears 4-6 cylindrical, tapered pointed processes which are translucent greyish-white proximally and distally, with a narrow, subterminal band of grey-black dots and a wider proximal band of yellow. Rhinophores bear 8-12 lamellae, and bear a subterminal band of yellow and numerous grey-black dots. Branchial plumes 7-9, tripinnate, with numerous grey-black dots and a little yellow distally. On either side of the branchial plumes are 2-3 extra-branchial appendages which are colored like the velar appendages. Labial tentacles conical.
Size: 2
Up to about 30mm in length.
Geographic Range 2
Marin Co., CA, to Panama; Japan; Australia; New Zealand; South Africa.
Notes: 2
Found in the low intertidal, and subtidal to at least 5 meters. Most often in bays and estuaries where it preys on the bryozoan Bugula pacifica growing on floating docks and pilings.
References 2
GOSLINER, T. M. 1982. A new record of the nudibranch gastropod Polycera hedgpethi Marcus, from the Indian Ocean of South Africa. Journal of Molluscan Studies 48(1):30-35.
POLA, M., M. SÁNCHEZ-BENÍTEZ, & B. RAMIRO. 2014. The genus Polycera Cuvier, 1817 (Nudibranchia: Polyceridae) in the eastern Pacific Ocean, with redescription of Polycera alabe Collier & Farmer, 1964 and description of a new species. Journal of Mollusca Studies 80(5):551-561. PDF
SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA ASSOCIATION OF MARINE INVERTEBRATE TAXONOMISTS. 2018. A taxonomic listing of benthic macro- and megainvertebrates from infaunal & epibenthic monitoring and research programs in the southern California bight, edition 12, 1 July 2018, xviii + 167 pp. PDF
VALLÈS, Y., A. VALDÉS, & Jesús ORTEA. 2000. On the phanerobranch dorids of Angola (Mollusca, Nudibranchia): a crossroads of temperate and tropical species. Zoosystema 22(1):15-31. PDF
Additional Info 2
Sources and Credits
- (c) Gary McDonald, all rights reserved, uploaded by Gary McDonald
- (c) Gary McDonald, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)
More Info
iNat Map
| Body | limaciform |
|---|---|
| Classification | Doridina |
| Dorsum | smooth |
| Labial tentacles | conical |
| Rhinophores | perfoliate |
