About Tyrannodoris luteolineata (Baba, 1936)
Tyrannodoris luteolineata is a species of nudibranch sea slug that grows quite large compared to most other sea slugs. Its body is black, with yellow lines running lengthwise along its length. It can be told apart from other similar-looking nudibranchs by distinct light green patches on the top of its head, located between its rhinophores. It is a fast-moving species. This species was first scientifically described from the Ryukyu Islands, Japan. It has been recorded across a wide area of the tropical Indo-Pacific Ocean, and has been observed as far south as the Poor Knights Islands in New Zealand, which is in the Southern Hemisphere. Tyrannodoris luteolineata is sometimes mistaken for the nudibranch Tambja affinis because the two species look very similar on the outside. Like all other species in the genus Tyrannodoris, T. luteolineata feeds on other nudibranchs, and actively hunts out its prey. It generally seems to feed only on nudibranchs from the family Polyceridae, and has been observed eating Tambja morosa, Tambja verconis, and Nembrotha kubaryana. This species is also cannibalistic, and will eat smaller individual members of its own species.
