# Hopkins' Rose Nudibranch

*Ceratodoris rosacea*

Their intense pink coloration comes from a pigment called hopkinsiaxanthin, which they steal from their bryozoan prey.

- **Taxonomy:** Animalia › Mollusca › Gastropoda › Nudibranchia › Goniodorididae › Ceratodoris
- **IUCN Red List status:** Least Concern
- **Population trend:** stable
- **Biome:** aquatic
- **Habitat:** Rocky intertidal zones, tide pools, and shallow rocky reefs.
- **Diet:** Encrusting bryozoans, particularly the pink Integrifila caliciiformis.
- **Range:** Pacific Coast of North America, California, Oregon, Baja California
- **Size:** 1.5 to 2.5 cm in length
- **Lifespan:** Up to 1 year
- **Active:** diurnal
- **Threats:** Ocean warming, ocean acidification, coastal pollution, and physical trampling by tidepool visitors.
- **Safe to approach?:** Harmless. These nudibranchs are extremely delicate. Do not touch, pick up, or remove them from their tide pool. Observe them closely from above the water without disturbing their rocky substrate.

## About

Hopkin's rose nudibranch is a species of sea slug, specifically a dorid nudibranch, a marine gastropod mollusc in the family Goniodorididae. Previously known as Okenia rosacea , this species was reclassified as Ceratodoris rosacea in 2024.

## Sources

- Plate: https://gaia-dex.com/species/410cb329-ee89-4860-9ff6-f43d0065bf69
- iNaturalist: https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/1520980
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceratodoris_rosacea
- Conservation status: IUCN Red List category, as recorded by Gaia-Dex
- Photo: https://inaturalist-open-data.s3.amazonaws.com/photos/21002/medium.jpg (Ken-ichi Ueda, CC-BY, via iNaturalist)

Habitat, diet, size and similar notes are AI-written summaries; check them against the linked sources before relying on them.