Sclerodoris tuberculata Eliot, 1904

Sclerodoris tuberculata is moderately rare in the Marshalls. About 12 specimens have been observed at Kwajalein and Enewetak Atolls. Despite the relatively few specimens, the base color of the animals have ranged from bright red and orange, such as the two pictured below, all the way to dark brown for a large, 70mm specimen. The dark red one at the bottom of the page was one of the smaller specimens found, measuring about 35mm. All but three were under dead coral or aluminum siding debris blown into the lagoon by storms; two were under dead coral in a surge channel on the seaward reef at Kwajalein; and the last came from a Kwajalein lagoon Halimeda patch. Depths ranged from 4 to 15 meters. The 49mm orange individual immediately below was found with a large, ruffled-edged orange egg coil. Ova were orange, 105µm in capsules 125 to 130µm in diameter. There were about 114 ova per mm squared, and the larvae developed Type 1 shells with purplish spires.

Created 15 December 2006
Updated 26 June 2008