Chromodoris elisabethina Bergh, 1877

Chromodoris elisabethina is probably the most common of the larger chromodorid nudibranchs in the Marshalls. It is most often found on midlagoon pinnacles, where it lives in ledges and under overhangs in 5 to 15 meters of water, or on the interisland lagoon slope on sponges growing on reefs or in patches of Halimeda algae as deep as about 35m. It can also be found under large rocks or in ledges on the oceanside reef. We have seen specimens up to about 40mm in length. It is similar to Chromodoris annae and to Chromodoris sp e248, but is much more common.

The animal below is snaking through some empty spongin fibers. It may have eaten the sponge from the skeleton.

Chromodoris elisabethina is one of a group of Chromodoris species that deposit their eggs in spirals with the flat edge on the substrate instead of the more commonly seen flowery spirals with narrow edge attached. Other Chromodoris species with this kind of egg mass are C. colemani, C. aspersa, Chromodoris sp. e248, and Chromodoris sp. e236. The eggs can be seen below overlaying the red sponge.

Created 14 December 2005
Updated 12 January 2007