Geitodoris heathi

Geitodoris heathi, common name "Heath's dorid", is a species of colorful sea slug, a dorid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dorididae.^[1][2]

Geitodoris heathi
Geitodoris heathi in a Central California tide pool, surrounded by red algae and bryozoans
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Mollusca
Class:	Gastropoda
Order:	Nudibranchia
Family:	Discodorididae
Genus:	Geitodoris
Species:	G. heathi
Binomial name
Geitodoris heathi (MacFarland, 1905)
Synonyms
Discodoris fulva O'Donoghue, 1924 Discodoris heathi MacFarland, 1905 (original combination)

Distribution

This species of dorid nudibranch lives in the eastern Pacific, from Alaska to Baja California.

Description

This nudibranch grows to be about 45 mm, or almost 2 inches in length. It can be white, yellow, or even a sort of pinkish color. It often sports small dark speckles that may appear as large brown patches to the naked eye. These dark speckles also often cause their gills to appear as a dusty colour, as well.^[3]

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  Geitodoris heathi, a mating pair
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  Geitodoris heathi
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  Geitodoris heathi
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  Geitodoris heathi from Pillar Point, California This nudibranch is often confused with the Monterey sea lemon and the noble sea lemon. The Monterey sea lemon generally grows larger and sports larger tubercles and dorsal spots than Heath's dorid and sea lemons generally lack the darker gill colouration seen in Heath's dorid. However, the variability between specimens of all three species makes identification significantly more difficult.