White-crusted

Not much time tonight, but here are a few shots of a nice little nudibranch from the rocky intertidal zone this morning on Bodega Head.

 

This is a White-crusted Cuthona (Cuthona albocrusta) among some hydroids.  These nudibranchs are small — this one was probably just under 1 cm long.  [And yes, that's another even smaller nudibranch above the Cuthona.  It was so tiny that I didn't even see it when I took this photograph.  I think it's a species of Doto.]  Here's another view:

 

I wasn't sure if my field photographs would come out, and since I hadn't documented this species for Bodega Head yet, I brought it in for a few microscope images.  

 

 

You can see why it's called "white-crusted," although I think "frosted" would be another good description.