Gastropoda | 
Nudibranchia | 
Polyceridae
			
			
			
				Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range				
				
					Ecology				
				
			
			
				Benthic; depth range 0 - 10 m (Ref. 7727).  Tropical			
			
			
				
			
			
			
				Indo-Pacific, Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea.
			
			
			
			
			
				Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
			
			
				Maturity: Lm ?  range ? - ? cm Max length : 4.0 cm TL male/unsexed; (Ref. 844)			
			
			
						
			
			
			
			
				
					Assumed maximum length from Ref.  844. Feeds on arborescent bryozoans of the genus Bugula that grow as part of the fouling community in ships' hulls (Ref. 844 and 822); and on Bugula neritina, which is epizootic on eelgrass in shallow estuaries (Ref. 866).				
			
			
			
			
			
				Life cycle and mating behavior				
					Maturity | Reproduction | Spawning | Eggs | Fecundity | Larvae				
			
			
				
					Members of the order Nudibranchia are simultaneous hermaphrodites.  Mating behavior:  Both individuals darts their penis toward each other to induce one to act as a male and the other as the female.  The victorious one to penetrate the body wall is the dominant male.  Life cycle:  Eggs are deposited on a substratum where they develop and hatch into (planktonic) vestigial veliger larval stage and further grow as adults.				
			
			
			
			
			
				Turgeon, D.D., J.F. Quinn Jr., A.E. Bogan, E.V. Coan, F.G. Hochberg, W.G. Lyons, P.M. Mikkelsen, R.J. Neves, C.F.E. Roper, G. Rosenberg, B. Roth, A. Scheltema, F.G. Thompson, M. Vecchione and J.D. Willams 1998 Common and scientific names of aquatic invertebrates from the United States and Canada: Mollusks, 2nd ed. American Fisheries Society (Special publication 26), Bethesda, Maryland. 526 p. (Ref. 1667)
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
					
						IUCN Red List Status    
						 (Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
					
					
					
				
			
			
			
			
				CITES status   (Ref. 108899)
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
			
				
					Not Evaluated				
			
			
			
			
			
				Threat to humans  
			
			
				
									
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
			
				Human uses  
			
			
							
			
			
				 | FishSource | 			
			
			
			
			
			
Tools
			
			
			
			
				
					More information				
				
					 Population dynamicsGrowth
Max. ages / sizes
Length-weight rel.
Length-length rel.
Length-frequencies
Mass conversion
Abundance
  Life cycleReproductionMaturityFecunditySpawningEggsEgg developmentLarvae   PhysiologyOxygen consumption
  Human RelatedStamps, coins, misc.
  
			 
			
			
			
				Internet sources
			
			
			
			
			
				Estimates based on models
			
			
			
									
						Preferred temperature  					
				 (Ref. 
115969): 10.7 - 28.2, mean 24.7 (based on 3133 cells).			
 
			
			
			
			
			
						
							
				
					
						Fishing Vulnerability  					
					
					
						Low vulnerability (10 of 100).					
				
						
						
			
									
						Price category  					
					
					Unknown.