Dendrodoris carbunculosa

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Nudibranchia
Family: Dendrodorididae
Genus: Dendrodoris
Species: Dendrodoris carbunculosa

Dendrodoris carbunculosa is one of the largest nudibranchs you will meet on a Philippine dive. The one shown in Nudibranchs of the Philippines measured nearly 1 foot long.

Its back is covered in rounded, warty bumps, which gives it a lumpy, rock-like look. It is a dorid in the family Dendrodorididae, a group that lacks the hard radula of most dorids and feeds on sponges instead by digesting them with its gut.

Justin first thought this one was a rock and was searching on top of it for small nudibranchs until the whole "rock" moved. It stayed in the same place for a week or two, slowly crawling under the rubble once it got tired of his lights.

For divers, the trick is to look twice at any odd-shaped lump on rubble or sand. Use soft lighting and give it space, as it will retreat under cover if disturbed.

It appears on page 173 of Nudibranchs of the Philippines.

Get our entire Nudibranchs of the Philippines book.