[6] This side-gill slug is found intertidally in harbours and to depths of up to 6 m or deeper off rocky coasts.

Its colour is a mottled pale grey, densely patterned with short, brown broken lines.

[7] In 2009, a major scare in the Auckland Region of New Zealand was sparked after several dogs died of tetrodotoxin poisoning after eating Pleurobranchaea maculata on beaches.

[10] Children and pet owners were asked to avoid beaches, and recreational fishing was also interrupted for a time.

After exhaustive analysis, it was found that these particular sea slugs must have ingested tetrodotoxin[11] likely when feeding on dead fishes, as such poisoning has not occurred again.