Pteraeolidia semperi

Nudibranch
Pteraeolidia semperi
Pteraeolidia semperi, adult, Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Andrew Green
Pteraeolidia semperi
Pteraeolidia semperi, adult, Holmes Reef, Coral Sea, Australia, Photo: Andrew Green
Pteraeolidia semperi
Pteraeolidia semperi, Tulamben, Bali, Photo: Tom Davis
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Pteraeolidia semperi
Pteraeolidia semperi
Pteraeolidia semperi

Distribution

Tropical Indo-Pacific


Description

This nudibranch uses Zooxanthellae to harness solar energy and dependant upon the amount of Zooxanthellae of the the animal has in its digestive glands the body colour will range from white to brown. The rhinophores have purple tips and the oral tentacles have purple bands. Similar to Pteraeolidia ianthina which is found in temperate Australia and which only has two purple bands on the rhinophores.


Information

Max Size: N/A cm

Sea Temperature Range: N/A

Depth: N/A

Habitat Generalization Index: N/A

Also referred to as the SGI (Species Generalisation Index), this describes the habitat niche breadth of the species. Species with values less than 15 are found in a relatively narrow range of reef habitat types (specialists), while those over 25 may be found on most hard substrates within their range (generalists). Learn more here.


Conservation and Rarity

IUCN Status: Vulnerable

Occurrence: Infrequent (3.1% of sites)

Occurrence describes how often the species is found on surveys within its distribution. It is calculated as the % of reef sites surveyed by RLS divers across all the ecoregions in which the species has been observed

Abundance: Solitary (1 per transect)

Abundance is calculated as the average number of individuals recorded per RLS transect, where present.


Edit by: Nicola Davis