Description ²

General ground color translucent greyish-white. A few reticulate bands of yellowish-brown to bluish-green occur on dorsum. Cerata quite long, translucent greyish-white, with a subapical band of opaque white; cores yellowish-brown to bluish-green. Oral tentacles reduced to oral veil. Rhinophores arising close together on a slight prominence, long, cylindrical, smooth, tapered to pointed tips, translucent greyish-white.

Size ²

Up to about 18mm in length.

Geographic Range ²

Coos Bay, OR, to San Diego, CA.

Notes: ²

Usually found in bays on floating docks or pilings, almost exclusively on the hydroid Ectopleura crocea upon which it feeds and the polyps of which it resembles. Lays a characteristic "cork-screw" shaped eggmass.

Previous identified as Cumanotus beaumonti (Eliot, 1906) & as Cumanotus fernaldi Thompson & Brown, 1984; but the individuals found in our area are apparently an undescribed species.

Sources and Credits

1. (c) Gary McDonald, all rights reserved, uploaded by Gary McDonald
2. (c) Gary McDonald, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA)

More Info

• iNat taxon page
• Biodiversity Heritage Library
• BOLD Systems BIN search
• Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)
• World Register of Marine Species

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