Dendrodoris tuberculosa is similar in appearance to D. carbunculosa, but it tends to be smaller and its dorsal tubercles tend to be more crowded together. We have found specimens on lagoon and seaward reefs under rocks, but it is most commonly seen in dense patches of Halimeda algae on the lagoon slope. Color is somewhat variable, and at times it seems that no two are alike. We found a nearly all white one in Hawaii. Dendrodoris tuberculosa was first recorded in the Marshalls from Kwajalein Atoll by Johnson & Boucher (1984), and it has been seen and photographed at Rongelap by John and Lynette Flynn.
Here are close-ups of the rhinophores and gills.
One easy way to distinguish Dendrodoris tuberculosa from D. carbunculosa is to turn it over. D. tuberculosa has a spotted underside as seen in the two photos below. In D. carbunculosa, the underside is a uniform color.
Even the undersides can exhibit considerable color variation. The underside above goes with the second D. tuberculosa photo on this page. The underside below goes with the first specimen figured at the top of this page.
The specimen below was found on 21 July 2008 in a lagoon Halimeda patch at about 9m depth. Just how many color forms are there?
Here's another from a lagoon Halimeda patch on 17 July 2011.
The next one was fairly large, found in a lagoon Halimeda patch on 26 March 2012.
The one below had a dorsum typical of Dendrodoris tuberculosa but lacked spots on the underside (not photographed).
This 15mm juvenile resembles Dendrodoris carbunculosa but the rhinophore color seems closer to D. tuberculosa. Additional small individuals would be needed to confirm the ID.
Created 25 December 2006
Updated 8 May 2023