White-lined Dirona

Dirona albolineata is a species of sea slug, an Eastern Pacific Ocean nudibranch, a marine, opisthobranch gastropod mollusk in the family Dironidae.

Description

This species, like others in the genus, is translucent with large, broad cerata. Often a clean white, can vary in colour from cream or greyish-white to salmon pink or purple. Distinctive bright white lines edge the flattened cerata that project from its dorsal side. They are carnivores that feed mostly on small crustaceans and snails, and can grow to be 180 mm (7 inches) in length.

Distribution and habitat

This species generally resides on rocks and sometimes mud in the intertidal, to depths of 35 m. It may also be found on docks and pilings. Its range extends along the Pacific coast of North America from Alaska to California, and along the coastlines of Russia and Japan in the western Pacific. Although innocuous-looking, the white-lined dirona is a predator that feeds on snails by cracking the shells with its jaws. It sheds its cerata when stressed.