Branched Dendronotid

At a glance

Branched Dendronotid (Dendronotus venustus) is a sea slug present across the CatchRules coverage area but without species-specific bag, size, or season rules tracked in our regulatory dataset.

Confirmed by 4,907 research-grade iNaturalist observations, with California, Washington, and Oregon the top jurisdictions by observation count.

Notable details

• The species name venustus means 'beautiful' in Latin, reflecting its ornate branching appendages.
• Like all dendronotid nudibranchs, it hunts colonial hydroids on rocky reefs.
• Its elaborate branched appendages maximize surface area for gas exchange.
• Found along the northeastern Pacific coast, it is often spotted in tidepools and among kelp holdfasts.

Where Branched Dendronotid are seen

• California3,152 iNat obs
• Washington1,067 iNat obs
• Oregon382 iNat obs
• British Columbia262 iNat obs
• Alaska44 iNat obs

Background

Dendronotus venustus is a species of sea slug, a dendronotid nudibranch, a shell-less marine gastropod mollusc in the family Dendronotidae.

Background excerpt adapted from Wikipedia's Branched Dendronotid article (CC BY-SA). Visit Wikipedia for the full entry.

Other sea slugs/nudibranchs on CatchRules

• barnacle-eating doridOnchidoris bilamellata
• Black and White DoridAcanthodoris rhodoceras