Parade-Float Sea Slug

Kalinga ornata

Nudibranchs
IUCN: Not evaluated

Usual depth2–49 m
Water temperature19–29 °C
Best monthsMay, August, and November
How commonRare

Photo credit: (c) "Vincent C. Chen is a Taiwanese recreational diver and free diver who dedicate to underwater photography and the marine lives protection. He is also one of the contributors to EZDive magazine since 2008.", some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · CC BY-SA · iNaturalist

About this species

Kalinga ornata is a species of large, colourful nudibranch in the family Polyceridae. It is the only species in the genus Kalinga, which is the type genus of the subfamily Kalinginae.

Text from the Wikipedia article “Kalinga ornata”, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article

Where and when

Where it has been recorded

Worldwide

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Best months

Worldwide (open data)

January: 6 records
February: 7 records
March: 3 records
April: 12 records
May: 21 records
June: 6 records
July: 9 records
August: 13 records
September: 5 records
October: 10 records
November: 13 records
December: 3 records

Depth and water temperature

Depth

Mostly recorded at 2–49 m · Deepest record: 125 m

0–10 m: 19 records
10–20 m: 3 records
20–30 m: 5 records
30–40 m: 0 records
40–50 m: 2 records
50–60 m: 0 records
60–70 m: 2 records
70–80 m: 0 records
80–90 m: 0 records
90–100 m: 0 records
100–110 m: 0 records
110+ m: 1 records

Water temperature

Recorded in surface water of 19–29 °C

18–20 °C: 5 records
20–22 °C: 18 records
22–24 °C: 14 records
24–26 °C: 5 records
26–28 °C: 3 records
28–30 °C: 9 records

Photos

Names and classification

English: Parade-Float Sea Slug

Names in 3 more languages

Spanish: Babosa de mar carroza
Japanese: ハナデンシャ
Simplified Chinese: 佩飾多角海蛞蝓, 佩飾巢海蛞蝓, 佩飾巢海麒麟, 華麗巢海蛞蝓

Similar species

Chamberlain's Nembrotha
Nembrotha chamberlaini
Crested Nembrotha
Nembrotha cristata
Trance Wrinkle Dorid
Nembrotha kubaryana
Ivory Wrinkle Dorid
Nembrotha lineolata
Shadowy Wrinkle Dorid
Nembrotha milleri
Fire-gilled Wrinkle Dorid
Nembrotha purpureolineata

Sources and credits

Names and taxonomy: WoRMS (CC BY 4.0) and the GBIF Backbone (CC BY 4.0). Photos: iNaturalist observers, each under the licence shown (CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA).

Depth, temperature, months and maps: records from OBIS and GBIF under CC0 or CC BY.
Descriptions: Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA, each linked to its article.
Conservation status as published by GBIF (IUCN Red List).
64 open-data records from 1864 to 2025.
Species data updated October 30, 2026.

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