Gastropoda |
Nudibranchia |
Polyceridae
Environment: milieu / climate zone / depth range / distribution range
Ecology
Benthic; depth range 1 - 12 m (Ref. 79924). Tropical
Indo-Pacific: East Africa to Japan, Australia, New Caledonia, and Marshall Islands. Tropical to subtropical.
Length at first maturity / Size / Weight / Age
Maturity: Lm ? range ? - ? cm
Mantle is reduced to a head shield or veil around the anterior end and a set of three large papillae down each side of the body. Arborescent papillae are scattered on the sides of the body and the posterior end of the foot has a large crest in the dorsal midline. Color varies based on distribution: Hong Kong speciemens are translucent white with yellow spots and a dark grey-brown irregular reticulate pattern. In Australia and Indian Ocean, yellow spots become less prominent and the dark reticulate pattern becomes a heavy patching of brown or orange-brown.
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.
Sachidhanandam, U., R.C. Willan and L.M. Chou 2000 Checklist of the nudibranchs (Opisthobranchia: Nudibranchia) of the South China Sea. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology Supplement 7:513-537. (Ref. 78073)
IUCN Red List Status
(Ref. 130435: Version 2025-1)
CITES status (Ref. 108899)
Not Evaluated
Not Evaluated
Threat to humans
Harmless
Human uses
| FishSource |
Tools
More information
Trophic EcologyFood items (preys)
Diet composition
Food consumption
Predators
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
