Hypselodoris malacitana? from Portugal

September 8, 2005
From: David Abecasis

I wonder if you can give me a hand identifying these sea slugs.

Locality: Faro, Portugal. Depth: 15 m. 06 May 2005. Photographer: David Abecasis

David Abecasis

davidbecas@netcabo.pt

Abecasis, D., 2005 (Sep 8) Hypselodoris malacitana? from Portugal. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14719

Dear David,
I think this is Hypselodoris malacitana, but I am having some difficulty deciding the difference between this species and H. cantabrica. Both species seem quite variable in colour and both have colour forms with a median yellow line on the dorsum. Ortea, Valdés, García-Gómez (1996) mention that one of the distinguishing features of H. malacitana is a yellowish line down the posterior midline of the rhinophore which splits basally to form an inverted V. Looking at the photos of H. cantabrica on the Forum [messages #2124, #12745] they also have this same marking. If they are both H. malacitana as well, I have no idea how the two species can be differentiated. Any advice would be welcome.

  • Ortea, J., Valdés, Á. & 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. Revista de Ecologia y Oceanologia y Biodiversidad Tropical. Supplement 1. 165pp.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Sep 8). Comment on Hypselodoris malacitana? from Portugal by David Abecasis. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14719

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