Scuba Journal Magazine

Marine Life / Nudibranchs

Thuridilla albopustulosa

Thuridilla albopustulosa
Thuridilla albopustulosa, photo 2
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Mollusca
Class
Gastropoda
Order
Sacoglossa
Family
Plakobranchidae
Genus
Thuridilla
Species
Thuridilla albopustulosa

Thuridilla albopustulosa is a sacoglossan, or sap-sucking sea slug, in the family Plakobranchidae. Sacoglossans are not true nudibranchs, though divers often group them together.

Thuridilla species have a pair of side flaps (parapodia) folded up over the back and long rolled rhinophores. This one is dark with pale lengthwise stripes and orange to red markings near the edges.

Sacoglossans feed by piercing algae and sucking out the cell contents.

In the Philippines Thuridilla are usually found crawling over algae-covered rock and rubble. They are small and move steadily, so get low and wait for the rhinophores to point toward the lens.

It appears on page 365 of Nudibranchs of the Philippines.

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