APHOTOMARINE

An educational resource dedicated mainly to the photography
and diversity of marine life that can be found in coastal waters
and intertidal areas of Great Britain and Ireland by David Fenwick.

A-P-H-O-T-O Wildlife Stock Image Library
Doris cf. ocelligera - A Sea slug (Sea slug images)
Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- group of six 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- group of six including a grey coloured individual 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- grey individual 1

Specimens above were found in a small sample taken from scraping pontoons at Newlyn Marina, Newlyn, Cornwall. 03.05.16 and 31.05.18.

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- faeces containing sponge spicules of Halichondria sp. 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- spicules 0.1mm division rule 1

Faeces were collected from five specimens of Doris cf. ocelligera collected from Newlyn Marina, Newlyn, Cornwall. 11.05.16. Faeces were collected to determine the food source, which was a Halichondria species of sponge. A 0.1mm division rule was used for measurement and as a background for the images.

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- pair or yellow nudibranchs 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- white form 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- rhinophore - white form 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- gills - white form 1

Specimens above were found on sponge covered red algae on an extra low spring tide at Helford, Cornwall. 08.04.16.

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- from South Devon 1

Specimen above found by Jan Whittington at North Sands, Salcombe, at the MBA Bioblitz. 27.09.15. SX73313805.

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- lateral view 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- lateral view 2

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- lateral view 3

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- gills 1

Specimens above found in a sample of algae taken from a pontoon at Newlyn Marina, Newlyn, Cornwall. 02.04.15.

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- dorsal view 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- anterior dorsal view 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- anterior dorsal view 2

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- gills 2

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- on Coral Weed 1

Specimen above found in a sample of Corallina officinalis, Coral Weed, from the lowershore at Battery Rocks, Penzance, Cornwall. 20.05.15.

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- dorsal view 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- dorsal view 2

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- dorsal view 3

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- with mm rule 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- with mm rule 2

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- pair / in container 1

Sea slug
Doris cf. ocelligera
- in container 1

Specimen above found under a rock in a middleshore rockpool at Lariggan Rocks, Wherrytown, Penzance, Cornwall. 06.04.12. SW46795 29305.

This sea slug has up till now only been recorded from North and South Devon, Lyme Bay and Cornwall. It has been recorded from a wreck off Falmouth, but has been recorded three times at Penzance, on a wreck 1km off Chimney Rocks; found intertidally at Chimney Rocks, Lariggan Rocks and Long Rock, Penzance; with many specimens at Newlyn Marina, Newlyn, Cornwall, in 2015.

Thanks go to David Kipling for the initial identification of this species.

According to J. Prkić and I.F.Smith on The Conchological Society of Britain and Ireland's Encyclopedia of Molluscs, the images shown here have some differences from Mediterranean specimens of Doris ocelligera. Both forms have unipinnate gills, guard-tubercles around the gills and rhinophores and, frequently, fine dark apical spots on the tubercles. But these specimens have rhinophores the same colour as the mantle, and tubercles with constricted bases, while Mediterranean specimens have rhinophores distinctly different in colour from the mantle, and broad based tubercles. They may just be a regional variant, but might be a different species.

Please note, a white form can also be found.

Live specimens, photographs and records are needed to further research into this species. If you e-mail me I can put you in touch with the people conducting the research.

Doris ocelligera Sea Slug Images
The main objective of this website is in furthering environmental awareness and education through the medium of photography. To increase awareness and access to the wildlife of the region and help
people find and identify it. Sometimes the difference between species is obvious but many species can only be determined by observing microscopic characteristics that are specific to any one species.