Aphelodoris brunnea, or the variable dorid.
Aphelodoris brunnea, or the variable dorid.
Geitodoris capensis, or the blotchy dorid.
Geitodoris capensis, or the blotchy dorid. Close-up of the typical lamellate or perfoliate rhinophores as found on many dorids.
Photos Guido Zsilavecz
Two unusual dorid nudibranchs were seen on a dive at Long Beach, at the same toppled-over structure were recently two other unusual dorids were seen.
Aphelodoris brunnea, the variable dorid, usually has a pale body covered by a pattern of brown blotches which can be very variable. There are numerous similar-looking dorids, also covered by dark blotches, so this species is hard to identify for certain. It occurs only in False Bay to East London, where it is common. It is found from the inshore intertidal zone down to at least 15m. I have seen it only twice up to now - once at A-Frame, and now at Long Beach.
Geitodoris capensis, the blotchy dorid, is a small, rough-skinned dorid, covered by small tubercles. The colour is always a blotchy yellow brown, with the rhinophores often darker, but with a pale tip. As with many other dorids it feeds on sponges. It occurs on both sides of the Peninsula, and has been seen on reefs near Maori Bay, and now Long Beach, from shallow water down to at least 20m. It is known to occur up to Port Alfred.
Nudibranchs of Southern Africa - a guide to the opisthobranch molluscs of southern Africa, T Gosliner, 1987.