Monterey sea lemon, Monterey dorid, (False) sea lemon • Doris montereyensis, Archidoris montereyensis
Monterey sea lemons found on the Hakai Institute dock on Calvert Island. Bottom right: Monterey sea lemons with a ribb on of eggs. Photos by Mary Vasey (top), Kelly Fretwell (left), and Caylie Boos.
Identification
This nudibranch can grow to 15 cm long. While it is often lemon-yellow, it can also be brighter and more orangey, or lighter — sometimes almost white. It is rounded to elongated in shape, with a roughened texture similar to a lemon. The animal has a varying amount of black spots and blotches on or between the tubercles (small bumps) that roughen its body. The gill plumes (tufts at the back of the body) and rhinophores (horn-like structures) vary in colour from yellow to orange.
Habitat & Range
The Monterey sea lemon can be found on hard substrates, such as on and underneath rocks, pilings, and docks. It is found in the intertidal and subtidal up to 50 m deep. Its range extends along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California. Towards the northern end of its range one can expect to find it more commonly in the intertidal, whereas it more commonly inhabits the subtidal in the south of its range.
Similar Species
The Monterey sea lemon is very similar to the Pacific sea lemon (Montereina nobilis), but M. nobilis has spots between but not on its tubercles; the lighter tubercles can be clearly seen amid dark spots and patches. Additionally, the Pacific sea lemon's rhinophores and gill plumes are noticeably lighter than the rest of the body, and are somewhat greyish — while those of the Monterey sea lemon are the same colour or darker than the rest of the body.
Another very similar species is Heath's dorid (Geitodoris heathi). Distinguishing between the Monterey sea lemon and Heath's dorid can even stump those experienced in nudibranch identification. While Heath's dorid can often be identified by its dirty-coloured gill plumes and aggregation of tiny dark speckles anterior of the gills, the variability in this species means these typical attributes are not always present. In such cases it may be necessary to rely on other more subjective characteristics, such as the relative sizes of tubercles and dark dorsal spots (both are larger in the Monterey sea lemon). The Monterey sea lemon also gets to a larger size.
The giant white dorid (Doris odhneri) has a similar body shape, but is usually bright white and lacks dark spots.
Intriguing Info
The ribbon of eggs pictured above may contain up to 2 million eggs! Click here for more information on Monterey sea lemon reproduction.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47469-Doris-montereyensis
This nudibranch can grow to 15 cm long. While it is often lemon-yellow, it can also be brighter and more orangey, or lighter — sometimes almost white. It is rounded to elongated in shape, with a roughened texture similar to a lemon. The animal has a varying amount of black spots and blotches on or between the tubercles (small bumps) that roughen its body. The gill plumes (tufts at the back of the body) and rhinophores (horn-like structures) vary in colour from yellow to orange.
Habitat & Range
The Monterey sea lemon can be found on hard substrates, such as on and underneath rocks, pilings, and docks. It is found in the intertidal and subtidal up to 50 m deep. Its range extends along the Pacific coast from Alaska to California. Towards the northern end of its range one can expect to find it more commonly in the intertidal, whereas it more commonly inhabits the subtidal in the south of its range.
Similar Species
The Monterey sea lemon is very similar to the Pacific sea lemon (Montereina nobilis), but M. nobilis has spots between but not on its tubercles; the lighter tubercles can be clearly seen amid dark spots and patches. Additionally, the Pacific sea lemon's rhinophores and gill plumes are noticeably lighter than the rest of the body, and are somewhat greyish — while those of the Monterey sea lemon are the same colour or darker than the rest of the body.
Another very similar species is Heath's dorid (Geitodoris heathi). Distinguishing between the Monterey sea lemon and Heath's dorid can even stump those experienced in nudibranch identification. While Heath's dorid can often be identified by its dirty-coloured gill plumes and aggregation of tiny dark speckles anterior of the gills, the variability in this species means these typical attributes are not always present. In such cases it may be necessary to rely on other more subjective characteristics, such as the relative sizes of tubercles and dark dorsal spots (both are larger in the Monterey sea lemon). The Monterey sea lemon also gets to a larger size.
The giant white dorid (Doris odhneri) has a similar body shape, but is usually bright white and lacks dark spots.
Intriguing Info
The ribbon of eggs pictured above may contain up to 2 million eggs! Click here for more information on Monterey sea lemon reproduction.
iNaturalist
https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/47469-Doris-montereyensis
References
Cowles, D. (2005). Archidoris montereyensis (Cooper, 1862). Invertebrates of the Salish Sea. Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory. Accessed 06/04/2013.
Harbo, R. M. (1999). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 112.
Macdonald, G. Doris Montereyensis Cooper, 1863. Intertidal Invertebrates of the Monterey Bay Area, California. Long Marine Laboratory, University of California Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz, CA. Accessed 06/01/2016.
Authors and editors of page
Chanda Brietzke, Kelly Fretwell, and Brian Starzomski (2016).
Cowles, D. (2005). Archidoris montereyensis (Cooper, 1862). Invertebrates of the Salish Sea. Rosario Beach Marine Laboratory. Accessed 06/04/2013.
Harbo, R. M. (1999). Whelks to whales: Coastal marine life of the Pacific Northwest. Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing. P. 112.
Macdonald, G. Doris Montereyensis Cooper, 1863. Intertidal Invertebrates of the Monterey Bay Area, California. Long Marine Laboratory, University of California Santa Cruz. Santa Cruz, CA. Accessed 06/01/2016.
Authors and editors of page
Chanda Brietzke, Kelly Fretwell, and Brian Starzomski (2016).