Felimare Picta

Florida Regal Doris
Felimare Picta

A long, elegant nudibranch in deep blue and electric yellow, with fine golden lines running across its back and a pale blue and white edge tracing the mantle. Yellow-tipped rhinophores rise at the front, matched by a feathery crown of gills at the rear, giving its streamlined body a striking flash of color against the seafloor.

• Size: Up to around 64 mm
• Range: Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea; from the western Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico to the eastern Atlantic, including the Azores, Canary Islands and Iberian Peninsula
• Habitat / Depth: Rocky reefs, walls and sponge-rich seafloors, from the intertidal zone to around 55 m
• Diet: Feeds on sponges, including species of Dysidea, Ircinia and Crella

Photo by Dana Barchana