Cuthona pustulata

Ian Smith Cuthona pustulata? Baby 1.3mm long. On shore at ELWS, Menai Strait 26Jly 2013.

Rudolf Svensen Met this nudi which I believe is a Cuthona pustulata today. It was a shy one, and when I put my light on it, it went down in the mud. Quite fast to be a nudi :-)

Kate Lock wow I have never seen this colour before the ones at Skomer are usually a mustard yellow colour...we find them on rocky reefs that are covered in soft silt.

Brendan Oonk It looks alike the nudi Bjørnar Nygård posted on april 30th

George Brown An interesting observation Rudolf.

Sarah Bowen Is this Halecium muricatum? Seen yesterday in South Pembs - I note that it's usually a northern species, although has been recorded from Skomer. So a bit unsure at the moment and any help gratefully received.

Bernard Picton Yes, I agree, H. muricatum. Yellow stem, irregular 3d branching.. Quite common on the north side of Skomer I think, together with Cuthona pustulata...

Sarah Bowen Thank you - lovely dive but disappointingly lacking in nudibranchs so far this year! Mind you, we're supposed to be concentrating on squirts so that's my excuse!

Erling Svensen This must be a Facelina bostoniensis as well? Strange shape of this one.

Rudolf Svensen Looks a bit like Cuthona pustulata to me.

Erling Svensen It so, it would be nice. A new nudi in my collection.....

Erling Svensen Why did I only take two pictures :-((

Rudolf Svensen I can show you where you can get heaps of images like this ;-)

Erling Svensen Yes, please.....

Rudolf Svensen Here is an other bugger from todays dive, Armina loveni. Never seen one before. It was quite eager to dig down in to the mud too. Does anybody knows what they eat. Maybe sea pens?

David Kipling Bernard Picton's website suggests the sea pen Virgularia mirabilis. Wow ;)

Torjus Haukvik Sea pens are correct, specifically Virgularia mirabilis.

Jussi Evertsen Both Pennatula and Virgularia - Armina is a burrowing species so you were lucky to find one up and about

Rudolf Svensen Yes there was a lot of Virgularia mirabilis around and some of them looked a bit worn out :-) . Jussi Evertsen we found several. Is Cuthona pustulata a burrowing species too?

George Brown I watched one crawl towards a juvenile Pennatula but it disappeared into the mud just before it made contact. Maybe heading for the seapens root? Google "Attack of the Sea Slugs" for an amazing video that reveals why we don't see this nudibranch often. If Cuthona pustulata also borrows I wonder how many other species employ this tactic?

Jussi Evertsen I have only found Cuthona pustulata on hydroids so far, so I would not place a bet on it

João Pedro Silva I've only seen Armina maculata eating (it feeds on Veretillum cynomorium). In some places it's often found intertidally and there it appears to "dig in" for the "root". But I once saw one on top of the Veretillum cynomorium (~10m deep) and the sea pen had distinct bite marks: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jpsilva1971/6997998059/ The bite marks appear to fit the profile of the radula (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Armina_maculata_Rafinesque,_1814_-_radula_.jpg).

Tony Gilbert How interesting. Virgularia mirabilis occurs a lot in Scottish sea lochs, although there is one colony I've seen in Holyhead marina, and another next to the Lochgarry. Although I've not seen the nudi: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyjgilbert-images/4256758825/in/set-72157621920489748/ Veretillum cynomorium is present also in Canary islands, Where in Lanzarote it is only (mainly) seen nocturnally, and is recorded as rare-ish here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/tonyjgilbert-images/5559034843/in/set-72157626351917680 Be sure to be looking for this one next time!

Bjørnar Nygård Found this little beauty during a dive i had yesterday in Bergen, Norway. It's about 5-10mm big and was found at about 13m depth. Is it a Cuthona pustulata ?

Klas Malmberg Aquatilis I think it has to long oral tentakles to be a Cuthona - what do you think of some kind of Facelina sp?

Bjørnar Nygård Facelina sp. actually sounds more right

Rudolf Svensen Cumanotus beaumont?

Christian Skauge It could resemble Cumanotus, yes... but still... a little strange?

Bjørnar Nygård it might resemble, but the cerats is quite different on this one and the mouth area is also different

Godfried van Moorsel Facelina dubia?

Christian Skauge I still think C. pustulata :-)

Bjørnar Nygård Here is another image of the same nudi, the face and mouth is easier to see in this image. Hope this might help identifying it.

Klas Malmberg Aquatilis Really nice picture!

Jussi Evertsen It appears it does not have any other superficial pigmentation than the white blotches on the cerata which could indicate Cuthona pustulata