Hypselodoris orsinii
(Verany, 1846)

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Family: Chromodorididae

DISTRIBUTION

Known only from the western Mediterranean.

PHOTO

Feeding on sponge Scalarispongia scalaris. Bandol, Ile de Bendor, Mediterranean coast, France, 8-12m, 1990. PHOTOS: Daniel L. Geiger.

One of the many blue chromodorids from the Mediterranean and surrounding waters. The literature is very confused. The uniform blue gills and rhinophores, the submarginal white/yellow mantle border, and the single median white line, are characteristic of this species. It feeds on Scalarispongia scalaris and possibly Cacospongia sp. See messages below for further discussion on this species and it misidentifications. Hypselodoris orsinii is often misidentified as H. tricolor or H. coelestis.

Note added Oct 2008: see message #21969 for comments on identification of sponges eaten by this species.

• Ortea, J., Valdés, A. & and García-Gómez, J.C. (1996) Revisión de las especies atlánticas de la familia Chromodorididae (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) de grupo cromático azul. [Review of the Atlantic species of the family Chromodorididae (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) of the blue chromatic group.] Avicennia, 1996, Suppl. 1: 1-165.

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