Dendrodoris fumata

Dendrodoris fumata (Ruppell & Leuckart, 1831)

The Indo-Pacific Porostome fauna is interesting and difficult to identify. This week we present Dendrodoris fumata. This absolutely gorgeous shot was taken by Scott and Janine Michael, at Kungkungan Bay Resort on the Lembeh Straits of Indonesia.

Dendrodoris fumata is a highly variable species as seen on the Sea Slug Forum . Individuals are often pink, red and reddish-orange as individuals, but become black as adults. The edge of the mantle is highly ruffled, like many species of Dendrodoris. This species is often confused with Dendrodoris nigra, which follows essentially the same color regime. In Dendrodoris fumata the mantle surface has small low papillae, and the gills are large spreading almost to the edge of the mantle. Whereas in Dendrodoris nigra the gills are smaller, arranged in a cup shaped circle, and the mantle is smooth. Dendrodoris nigra is also most often observed black with white specks.

This species has been reported from Zanzibar to Australia, New Caledonia and Indonesia. It may reach over 10 cm in length. We suspect that it feeds on sponges like other members of the genus. Because porostomes have no radula they feed somewhat differently than other dorids. Instead of grasping a chunk of sponge and rasping it to pieces with their radula, this group first secretes digestive juices on the sponge to partially digest the sponge tissue, then they slurp up the meal with their tube like buccal mass.

Scott W. Michael and Janine Cairns-Michael Scott was born and raised in Nebraska. Although he grew up far from the ocean, Scott developed a keen interest in sharks, rays and reef fishes as a young boy. Scott is now an internationally recognized writer, underwater photographer, and marine biology researcher specializing in elasmobranchs and reef fishes. He is a regular contributor to several magazines and is the author of Reef Sharks and Rays of the World (Sea Challengers), Reef Fishes, Volume 1 (Microcosm), A Pocket Expert Guide to Marine Fishes (Microcosm) and Aquarium Sharks and Rays (Microcosm). Scott is also a partner in a massive web-site project,Coral Realm, providing much of the written and photographic content. (Coral Realm is a web-site for those that love sharks and rays, reef fishes, and invertebrates.) Scott has been a scientific consultant for a National Geographic Explorer special on shark behavior, and a participant in a Discovery Channel program on shark diving. He also conducted ground breaking research on the mating behavior of the round stingray (Urobatis halleri). Scott has been diving since 1976. His research and photographic endeavors have led him from Cocos Island in the Eastern Pacific to numerous locations in the Indo-Pacific, including the Maldives, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Fiji Islands, much of Australia's coastal waters, French Polynesia, as well as the Red Sea and many reefs in the Caribbean. He also conducts seminars on fish identification and biology at Kunkungan Bay Resort for one month every year.

Janine was born and raised in Invercargill, New Zealand. She moved to the United States in 1981 and has lived in Nebraska ever since. Janine is a metal smith, and has worked for a nationally renowned jeweler for the past eight years. She also makes and sells her own jewelry in art galleries in New Zealand.

Janine has been scuba diving for the past 11 years and a serious underwater photographer for the past four. Her photos have appeared in numerous books and several different magazines. Janine is a partner in www.coralrealm.com. She is responsible for some of the photographic content and her artistic talent is utilized in the development of the site.

Janine has spent numerous hours exploring the underwater world. She has spent time on reefs in the Maldives, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Fiji Islands, the Great Barrier Reef, French Polynesia, the Red Sea and the Caribbean.

Taxonomic information courtesy of Dave Behrens

David W. Behrens Author: Pacific Coast Nudibranchs Co-Author Coral Reef Animals of the Indo Pacific Propriator of Sea Challengers Natural History Books ! Send Dave mail at seachalleng@earthlink.net

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