Glossodoris rufomarginata

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Mollusca
Class: Gastropoda
Order: Nudibranchia
Family: Chromodorididae
Genus: Glossodoris
Species: Glossodoris rufomarginata

Glossodoris rufomarginata is a dorid nudibranch in the family Chromodorididae, the colourful group that includes many of the reef's most photographed slugs.

Its back is tan to orange-brown and finely speckled. The best ID feature is the mantle margin, which has a white band edged with orange around the outside. The rhinophores and gills stand up clearly from the back, and the mantle edge often ripples as it moves.

Like other chromodorids it feeds on sponges, so it is usually found crawling over sponge-covered rubble and reef. Related Glossodoris species look similar from a distance and differ mainly in the colour bands at the mantle edge, so check that edge closely before naming it.

In the Philippines it can turn up on day dives across a range of depths. A low angle that shows the frilled, banded margin makes the most useful ID shot.

It appears on page 133 of Nudibranchs of the Philippines.

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