Dendrodoris fumata (Rüppell & Leuckart, 1830)
- Location
- Gorilla Chop, Okinawa Island (Motobu and Northern area), Okinawa, Japan
- Date
- 2014/04/14
- Length
- 30mm
- Depth
- 6.0m
- Water temperature
- 22.0℃
Description
A large dendrodorid reaching about 100 mm in body length. Ground colour varies among individuals from translucent reddish-brown to translucent yellowish-white. The dorsum is scattered with irregular dark patches. The mantle margin undulates gently, and the rhinophores are the same colour as the body or slightly darker, with white tips. The gill is large and the same colour as the body.Some authors regard this species as conspecific with Dendrodoris arborescens, but the two are treated here as distinct species.
Distribution
Widely distributed across the Indian, western, central and eastern Pacific Oceans. Records come from South Africa, Madagascar, Tanzania, Christmas Island, Malaysia, Australia, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Singapore, Korea, Japan, Palau, Hawaii and both North and South America.Etymology
The specific epithet fumata is the feminine of Latin fumatus ("smoked"), in reference to the species' smoky pale-brown ground colour.Remarks
Originally described by Rüppell & Leuckart 1828 as Doris fumata in their Red Sea Atlas; the parentheses in the current author citation reflect the transfer to Dendrodoris. Several synonyms exist and the taxonomy has been confused; the Japanese vernacular name "Madara-umiushi" is applied to this species. Like other species of Dendrodoris, it lacks a radula and feeds on sponges by suction.References
- マダラウミウシ, Baba K. (1949). Opisthobranchia of Sagami Bay collected by His Majesty the Emperor of Japan (相模湾産後鰓類図譜). Iwanami Shoten, Tokyo. 4+2+194+7 pp., pls. 1-50.
- 高岡生物研究会. (2002). 日本海のウミウシ. 第2版.
- Dendrodoris fumata (compared), Millen S.V. & Bertsch H. (2005). Two New Species of Porostome Nudibranchs (Family Dendrodorididae) from the Coasts of California (USA) and Baja California (Mexico). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, Series 4. 56(18): 189-199.
A Kindle field guide by the site author
Kimoto N. (2026). Sea Slugs of Japan & the Indo-Pacific, 2nd Edition.
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Photos of Dendrodoris fumata
Same Genus Nudibranchs
Similar Colors Nudibranchs
Academic Database
Sea slug observation data is available in international marine biodiversity databases.