About Verconia norba (Er.Marcus & Ev.Marcus, 1970)
Verconia norba is a species of purple sea slug that typically reaches a body length between 7 mm and 25 mm. The mantle of this species can range in color from reddish purple to pinkish orange, with a creamy white mantle border. Just inside this border, there is a series of reddish purple streaks or smudged marks that are a more vibrant shade of purple than the main body color. A white patch matching the color of the mantle border runs along the animal's midline. This patch sometimes encircles the gills and extends forward between the rhinophores, and it is often split into two separate anterior and posterior patches. The rhinophores and branchia (gills) have an orange-red tint. Identifying individual purple sea slugs within the related genus previously classified as Noumea can be challenging, because multiple related species have purple-colored forms. This species is distributed throughout the tropical Indo-West Pacific. Its food source has not been definitively identified, but individuals have been found on coralline alga, which may be part of its diet.
