The scribbled nudibranch (Doriopsilla miniata) is a species of sea slug, a dorid nudibranch. It is a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dendrodorididae.Bouchet, P. (2010). Doriopsilla miniata (Alder & Hancock, 1864). Accessed through: World Register of Marine Species on 2012-06-09
Distribution This species was described from Waltair, India. It is reported from the Indo-Pacific Ocean including Australia.Burn R. (2006) A checklist and bibliography of the Opisthobranchia (Mollusca: Gastropoda) of Victoria and the Bass Strait area, south-eastern Australia. Museum Victoria Science Reports 10:1–42. It has been synonymised with the Mediterranean species Doriopsilla areolata in the past. Around the southern African coast it is found from the Atlantic side of the Cape Peninsula to Sodwana Bay, from the intertidal to at least 30 m.Gosliner, T.M. 1987. Nudibranchs of Southern Africa In the light of recent discoveries regarding the Doriopsilla species of California it is likely that this is a species complex.Hoover C., Lindsay T., Goddard J.H.R. & Valdés A. (2015). Seeing double: pseudocryptic diversity in the Doriopsilla albopunctata–Doriopsilla gemela species complex of the north-eastern Pacific. Zoologica Scripta. 44: 612-631.
Description The scribbled nudibranch is a smooth-bodied yellow-brown nudibranch, with opaque white lines on its notum. It may reach a total length of 50 mm.Zsilavecz, G. 2007. Nudibranchs of the Cape Peninsula and False Bay.
Ecology This species feeds on sponges. It lacks a tooth-bearing tongue (radula) and instead digests prey sponges using digestive enzymes produced by its oral gland. The externally digested sponge cells are then pumped into the mouth. Its appearance is mimicked by a sea snail, Trivia millardi.Liltved W.R. 2000. Cowries and their relatives of southern Africa
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