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Additional Photos
top
dark gills
underside
with food sponge
in tidepool
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Asteronotus cespitosus (van Hasselt,
1824)
Maximum size: about 250 mm.
Identification:
This is a large mound-shaped dorid with a distinctive sculpted
appearance. The notum is smooth with large raised ridges and tubercles.
There is usually a mid-dorsal longitudinal ridge flanked by compound
tubercles
that are
often rough "mirror images" on either side. The tubercles become
smaller marginally. The margin is thin and translucent, sometimes edged
in pink. The color varies from light yellow to caramel
to grayish tan with the tubercles and rhinophores a light cream or pale
yellow. Its gills appear to change from light tan during the day to
chocolate brown or
blood red at night.
Natural history:
Asteronotus cespitosus
is a
moderately common dorid found in protected to highly exposed rocky
areas. It has been
found in tidepools and subtidally to 17 m (55 ft). It is typically
active at night but it may rest in
the open during the day.
Occasionally, the commensal shrimp, Periclimenes
imperator, lives on this nudibranch. Compounds characteristic of
the blue-gray sponge Dysidea herbacea
have been isolated from A. cespitosus
suggesting that it feeds on that species. (Fahey & Garson, 2002)
Distribution:
Big Island, Maui, Molokai, Oahu and French Frigate Shoals; widely
distributed in
the
Indo-Pacific.
Taxonomic notes:
The name means "forming dense clumps," in reference to the large groups
of tubercles on the notum. It is referred to as the "clumpy nudibranch"
in Hoover, 1998 & 2006. It may have been first reported from Hawaii
in Pease,
1860 (as Doris foetida).
Photo: PF: 93
mm: Kamaole, Maui; Dec. 15, 2006.
Observations and comments:
Note
1: ( )
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