Species · GBIF taxon 6519876
Sea Lemon
Doris montereyensisAlso known as Monterey Sea Lemon, Monterey Dorid
Sea lemons are robust dorid nudibranchs that mimic the texture and color of the sponges they eat. Their bright yellow to orange bodies are covered in small, dark-tipped tubercles, and they sport a conspicuous rosette of feathery gills on their posterior end. These slow-moving gastropods navigate rocky tidepools and kelp forests along the Pacific coast, using their sensory rhinophores to sniff out prey.
MarineColorfulGastropod
- diet
- Encrusting sponges, particularly breadcrumb sponges
- family
- Dorididae
- threats
- Coastal pollution, habitat degradation, and ocean acidification
- life Span
- 1 to 2 years
NE
Safe to observe at a normal distance.
- Search the sponges: Look closely under rocky ledges and inside crevices where yellow sponges grow.
- Do not touch: Their delicate bodies and gills are easily damaged by handling.
- Watch the gills: Observe the feathery branchial plume on their back, which retracts when disturbed.