Maldives Marine Life

Marine life of Maldivian waters

← All species
Rudman's phyllidiella
No photo available
Photo: N Yonow / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 3.0 (view on Wikimedia Commons)Photographed in the Maldives.

Rudman's phyllidiella

Phyllidiella rudmani

Valid name (WoRMS, AphiaID 536709, checked 2026-10-31).

English
Rudman's phyllidiella
Scientific
Phyllidiella rudmani
Dhivehi
No recorded Dhivehi name
Group
Sea slugs
Family
Phyllidiidae (phyllidiid nudibranchs)
Maximum size
Up to about 6 cm (total length)
Depth and habitat
Sea floor (benthic)
IUCN status
NE · Not EvaluatedNot Evaluated (NE)

Description

A phyllidiid nudibranch: a firm, oval slug with a tough, knobbly back and its gills hidden underneath. Phyllidiids feed on sponges and carry distasteful chemicals taken from them, so they crawl openly by day. Several species look alike and are told apart by the pattern of ridges, knobs and colour.

In the Maldives

Recorded from the Maldives: museum specimens (n=7); iNaturalist research-grade observations in the Maldives (n=26, 16 observers); literature records via OBIS; SeaLifeBase Maldives checklist.

Sources

Dhivehi name source: No species-level Dhivehi name found in Dhivehi Wikipedia, SeaLifeBase (country: Maldives) or MRS/MMRI invertebrate publications.