Hamner's Tritonia

Tritonicula hamnerorum

Hamner's Tritonia is an elongate and narrow nudibranch with long, branched rhinophores and elevated rhinophoral sheaths that have irregular edges. Its body displays a translucent gray background adorned with about twenty thin white stripes running lengthwise, and its color can range from pink to pale lavender, mimicking its host sea fan, Gorgonia ventalina. This species typically reaches a length of up to 15 millimeters. It is found in the Caribbean, with a distribution that includes the Gulf of Mexico, Florida, Mexico, Belize, the Bahamas, the Cayman Islands, and Panama, primarily inhabiting shallow water reef environments at depths between 2 and 4 meters.  Feeding exclusively on Gorgonia ventalina, Hamner's Tritonia has been observed to sequester a distasteful compound from its host, making it unappealing to predators such as the bluehead wrasse. The nudibranch lays clusters of several hundred egg capsules on the branches of its host coral, and the veliger larvae that hatch are believed to be planktonic. Juveniles feed on the soft tissue of the sea fan, while adults consume the polyps. Encounters with this species during dives can be rare, as individuals are often found solitary or in small numbers on their host corals, although large aggregations can occur under certain conditions.