Unidentified Nudi - Shaggy Mouse or Shag Rug Nudibranch

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Tom Nic
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Unidentified Nudi - Shaggy Mouse or Shag Rug Nudibranch

Post by Tom Nic »

OK, here's my first try at some serious Nudi ID'ing. Would this be the right forum?

I found this little guy (1 to 2 inches) on a piling at Titlow. He sure is cool looking! I have gone over Lamb's Marine Life of the Pacific NW and Behrens Eastern Pacific Nudibranch's and an ID does not jump out at me. Thoughts anyone? :book:

It could be a Shag Rug Nudibranch (aeolidea papillosa, aeolidia farinacea) pg. 271 Lamb, but there are significant differences. It also bears a resemblance to a Barnacle Eating Nudibranch (onchidoris fusca, lamellidoris fusca) pg. 257 Lamb, but again there are significant differences.
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Last edited by Tom Nic on Mon Feb 05, 2007 4:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Tangfish »

Interesting! I've never seen one like that before. Terrific find Tom!
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Zen Diver
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Post by Zen Diver »

Looks rather like a Shaggy Mouse to me, but with a reverse mohawk...

Good find!

-Valerie
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boydski
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Post by boydski »

Hi Tom,

It's definitely a Shaggy Mouse nudibranch. They are actually quite common, but very hard to see because they tend to hide buried in the mud or under rocks.
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Post by John Rawlings »

Zen Diver 2 wrote:Looks rather like a Shaggy Mouse to me, but with a reverse mohawk...

Good find!

-Valerie
I'm with Valerie and Scott....Shaggy Mouse....and a nice big FAT one, too!

Great shots! The photo at the top REALLY shows how it gets its name....all it needs is a tiny little tail!

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Tom Nic
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Post by Tom Nic »

boydski wrote:Hi Tom,

It's definitely a Shaggy Mouse nudibranch. They are actually quite common, but very hard to see because they tend to hide buried in the mud or under rocks.
Thanks Scott... a friend had an ID book that I do not have (name escapes me at the moment) #-o that had a picture that looked like mine. This little guy was not in the mud, and in fact was about 6-10 ft up a piling. There are similarities between your pic and mine, but to be quite honest if I had to set them side by side and compare I wouldn't have called them the same. Lots to learn here...

Anybody have a scientific name for this little guy? Val? John? He sure is a cute little guy! (the nudi, not John!)
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John Rawlings
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Post by John Rawlings »

Hey, Tom!

The scientific name is Aeolidia papillosa

Here's some other shots from a WSU website showing slightly different coloration that are more similar to your shot than Scott's:

http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidwe ... llosa3.htm

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Tom Nic
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Post by Tom Nic »

John Rawlings wrote:Hey, Tom!

The scientific name is Aeolidia papillosa

Here's some other shots from a WSU website showing slightly different coloration that are more similar to your shot than Scott's:

http://www.beachwatchers.wsu.edu/ezidwe ... llosa3.htm

- John
Thanks John! :prayer: Only now I'm starting to get a bit of a headache... Cf. Pg. 114 in Behrens Eastern Pacific Nudibranchs #256 (aelidia papillosa) - looks NOTHING like any of these pics... it's even a different color! #-o Lamb s Marine Life of the Pacific NW pg. 271 (aeolidia papillosa) #MC366 is a much clearer match and is one of the ones that I initially guessed above when I was looking for a match. One of the common names is "shag rug nudibranch", which given that I still remember the 70's I think is pretty cool!

As you mentioned, mine was a NICE FAT ONE :rr: (which of course could have nothing to do with the fact that I found it) ](*,) and as Val noticed he has the coolest little bald spot / mohawk running down his back.

OK, enough for now... I hear the music playing in the background - "They're coming to take me away, ha ha, they're coming to take me away, ho ho," etc. etc.
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Post by John Rawlings »

Tom Nic wrote: .....as Val noticed he has the coolest little bald spot / mohawk running down his back.
Actually that "coolest little bald spot / mohawk" is visible in ALL of the shots we've looked at so far - it's just the color of the one in your shot that makes it stand out so well.

- John
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Post by nwscubamom »

These guys munch on Plumose Anemones, so keep your eyes peeled for them on pilings and such.

- Janna :)
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Post by Sounder »

"Shagadelic Nudi, Baby!" (Austin Powers nudi?)
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Re: Unidentified Nudi - Shaggy Mouse or Shag Rug Nudibranch

Post by thelawgoddess »

Tom Nic wrote:Image
very cool - i've never seen one of those either!
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Post by jeff98208 »

very nice! i have seen one just like that at the edomnds underwater park.
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Re: Unidentified Nudi - Shaggy Mouse or Shag Rug Nudibranch

Post by yvonne »

We're selling our area rug. I really like it, but it just doesn't fit in the new apartment.
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Re: Unidentified Nudi - Shaggy Mouse or Shag Rug Nudibranch

Post by spatman »

yvonne wrote:We're selling our area rug. I really like it, but it just doesn't fit in the new apartment.
Area rugs go really well with aspic.
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Re: Unidentified Nudi - Shaggy Mouse or Shag Rug Nudibranch

Post by Joshua Smith »

yvonne wrote:We're selling our area rug. I really like it, but it just doesn't fit in the new apartment.
But it really ties the room together.....
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