Chelidonura tsurugensis
Baba & Abe, 1959
Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
Family: Aglajidae
DISTRIBUTION
Described from Japan, it is possibly widely distributed in the tropical West Pacific and also the Indian Ocean.
PHOTO
Collected from 3m, Seragaki, Okinawa. July, 1991. Length 16mm. (Very rare on Okinawa). PHOTO: Bob Bolland.
This small species, 15-20mm long alive, appears to be widely distributed in the western Pacific, being quite common on sand flats on the Great Barrier Reef. It has also been recently reported from Western Australia (Wells & Bryce, 1993. Sea Slugs of Western Australia).
It is also possible that Chelidonura sandrana from the western Indian Ocean, is a colour form, but Wells & Bryce suggest that both species? forms? occur in Western Australia. I have discussed this more fully under C. sandrana.
Reference:
• Baba, K. & Abe, T. (1959). The genus Chelidonura and a new species, C. tsurugensis, from Japan. Publications of the Seto Marine Biological Laboratory, 7(2): 279-280
Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 27) Chelidonura tsurugensis Baba & Abe, 1959. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/cheltsur
