The head shield slug, Haminoea alfredensis, at Long Beach.
View from the rear. The paler part is a hard, internal shell.
All photos Guido Zsilavecz
This head shield slug is a herbivore, scraping diatoms off Caulerpa sea weeds. It is most commonly found in shallow estuaries, but may occasionally be found in rock pools and tidal pools as well. As with many head shield slugs, this one retains a hard shell which is visible in some of the photos.
Although reported to ocurr on both sides of the Peninsula and as far east as East London, it is infrequently seen by divers, and this is the first one SURG members have seen.
For more details on other head shield slugs, see "Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay", now available from SURG and better Cape Town dive shops.
Nudibranchs of Southern Africa - a guide to the opisthobranch molluscs of southern Africa, T. Gosliner, 1987.
Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay, G. Zsilavecz, 2007.