J7743 Nectria ocellata Click to enlarge image
J7743 Nectria ocellata Image: Stephen Keeble
© Australian Museum

Fast Facts

  • Classification
    Genus
    Nectria
    Species
    ocellata
  • Size Range
    Width 170mm

Identification:

Inflated centrally with five arms round in cross-section tapering to a narrowly rounded point. Aboral surface with distinctive rounded, elevated areas (tabulae) that decrease in size along the arms distally.The tabulae have a convex and granular upper surface, and are separated by gaps that are not raised. Colours are variable but orange with dark red is common.

Distribution:

Temperate inshore, continental shelf and slope areas from Broughton Island, NSW, south to Tasmania and to western end of Great Australian Bight. Depth range intertidal to 230 m.


Distribution data sourced from the Atlas of Living Australia

Australian Museum registration database records for the Sydney region:

Fairlight, near Manly; Port Jackson (Watsons Bay); Botany Bay (Bare Island). Depth range 5 m.

Habitat:

Exposed reef.

Taxonomic information - synonyms and type material:

Nectria ocellata Perrier 1876: 4.
Type data: lectotype BMNH 1958.7.30.20.
Type locality: coast of Tasmania.


J7743 Nectria ocellata

Nectria ocellata

Image: Stephen Keeble
© Australian Museum

Links for further information:

Atlas of Living Australia

World Register of Marine Species

Additional references:

Clark (1946); Shepherd (1967a); Zeidler & Rowe (1986); Edgar (1997).