Nectria ocellata Perrier, 1876
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.
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.
Links for further information:
World Register of Marine Species
Additional references:
Clark (1946); Shepherd (1967a); Zeidler & Rowe (1986); Edgar (1997).