Need Flatworm ID

[bodiver]

I shot these while diving in Puerto Galera and haven't found what they are yet. Anyone know?

[scottg]

hey Bo - they look like flatworms to me, so I moved them out of the nudibranch section

Leslie might be able to help with an id.

[Leslie Harris]

Yup, flatties for sure, and a frequently photographed species - Pseudoceros bifurcus. I don't know if they're really common or if they're just more obvious than other species because of the bright colors. In your second shot, it looks as if the animal is curled around a tunicate. They feed on tunicates by everting their multi-branched proboscis into the body & sucking up the internal contents.

Incidentally, in your first shot those thin white lines on the red sponge are probably polychaete worms in the genus Haplosyllis. Now there's a worthy macro subject!

[bodiver]

Mahalo Leslie for the name and the info. Next time I go there I will bring a 105 and "do the worms".
Aloha,
Bo