We found our single specimen of Unidentia sp. e626 on 5 July 2011. It measured 25mm and was found at about 33m on a layer of loose algae and detritus at the base of a sandy lagoon slope near Gugeegue Island. In natural light, the bright colors of the nudibranch appeared as simple black. Our specimens are similar to Unidentia sandramillenae we have seen in Bali and to U. aliciae from Thailand, but both of those differ enough in color from our specimen that we are leaving them separate for now.
The photo below, taken at the moment it was found, shows the animal on a mixed mat of algae and detritus. Included within the mat are fairly large hydroids, which this nudibranch may have been eating. This photo is a still captured with a video camera.
Zooming in on a couple of the hydroids from right below the nudibranch.
Created 6 July 2011