When Nudibranchs metamorphasize and land onto the substrate they hone in on their food source and live their lives out. Many Nudibranchs look the same as a juvenile or an adult.
In the case of Aegires citrinus the juveniles are equipped with black rhinophores. As they become adults the black works it way to the tip and eventually becomes yellow.
This firm bodied Nudibranch is always brilliant yellow. The body is rounded and the gills are in the centre of the dorsum protected by a 3 lobed elevation consisting of a group of particularly large, fused pustules. It can grow to 70 mm.
Details:
Photo & text by Gary Cobb, Flinders Reef, Moreton Island, Queensland.
Payments can be paid via Paypal use gary@nudibranch.com.au
Our Nudibranch website
We embarked upon this adventure of ours while diving here on the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Australia. Upon realizing the amazing variety of nudibranchs we were seeing, we developed an appetite for not only finding as many different species as possible but identifying and learning all we could about these most amazing creatures of the sea.
nudibranch.com.au was born when a friend of Gary’s suggested we share our knowledge with the world. The site commenced in March 2003 when we set out on our quest to find, identify and record all of the nudibranchs here in our area. The ever changing sea and seasons give up new surprises every visit whether they are subtidal or intertidal.
We describe our searching and identifying component of the quest as The Treasure Hunt, and the recording thereof upon the web site as The Never Ending Story.
We welcome for inclusion on the site the findings of other workers in this area that we may not have yet recorded.
From this website a Nudibranch Identification book called Undersea Jewels - A Colour Guide to Nudibranchs was published in 2006. Gary drew up the concepts and Dr. Richard Willan suggested he could impart technical accuracy and the rest is history. The book is a 'Colour Guide'. After all that is the first thing anyone remembers about first seeing a Nudibranch.
Our Mission
LOCATE, RECORD, IDENTIFY and POST every species of OPISTHOBRANCH to be found on the Sunshine Coast Queensland, Australia. Learn more>
To LOCATE through scuba diving and intertidal searching.
To RECORD by underwater and studio/taxonomic photography (including microscopy photography) of the specimens.
To IDENTIFY these speciesthrough invaluable support fromqualified authorities in this field and developing reference resources.
To POST upon our web site not only images of the species and theirnatural history behaviour but also information concerning size abundance and localities. Additionally to disseminate to other sites information considered unusual (see Useful Resources).
Towards achieving these aims we will continue to acquire and develop the necessary equipment, resources and knowledge.
Have fun, learn and enjoy the Earth's greatest creatures!
Nudibranchs are the most ephemeral of marine creatures. They greatly vary in size, colour and shape. They can be almost invisible or very bright and easy to see. Learn more>