Phyllidia ocellata

Images taken at Chowder Bay, NSW and Mudjimba Island, Sunshine Coast, QLD, Australia and Lembeh, Indonesia

The primary colours of P. ocellata are black, white and gold. The ventral surface is grey. Brunckhorst: Phyllidiid nudibranchs 37 The dorsum has a gold background and black areas (typically rings) bordered with white. The rounded or conical tubercles are usually isolated and may be gold, or white in colour. Their surface is often irregular because of the underlying matrix of supporting spicules. Tubercles may be compound in some specimens, but generally they do not coalesce into continuous ridges. Often the median tubercles appear to line up longitudinally, almost joining as a ridge. The rhinophores are gold in colour and their clavus possess 27-30 lamellae each (42-70 mm specimens). Ventrally, the cross-hatched hyponotum, gills and foot are grey. The foot sole is paler towards the margin and lacks any distinctive markings. The finger like oral tentacles arc gold at their rounded ends.

The Systematics and Phylogeny of Phyllidiid Nudibranchs (Doridoidea) by David J Brunkhorst