Dirona picta MacFarland, 1905

What is the painted dirona?

The painted dirona (Dirona picta) is a small, variably coloured cladobranch nudibranch of the northeastern Pacific, its body and flattened, leaf-like cerata sprinkled with white, yellow, olive and pink spots.

Description

A small cladobranch nudibranch with highly variable colour. The ground colour ranges from tan and orange-brown to greenish, and the back bears flattened, leaf-shaped cerata, often finely edged in white. Body and cerata alike are dusted with white, yellow, olive-green or pink spots and blotches, so that overall colour varies greatly between individuals.

Distribution

Occurs along the Pacific coast of North America from northern Oregon to Baja California Sur, Mexico, and has also been reported from Japan.

Etymology

The specific epithet picta is Latin for "painted", after the many-coloured spots that decorate the body.

Remarks

It feeds on arborescent bryozoans, in particular Scrupocellaria californica.

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References

• Dirona picta n.sp., Cockerell T.D.A. & Eliot C. (1905). Notes on a collection of Californian nudibranchs. Journal of Malacology. 12(3): 31-53.
• Dirona picta, Behrens D.W., Hermosillo A., Fletcher K. & Jensen G.C. (2022). Nudibranchs & Sea Slugs of the Eastern Pacific. Molamarine.