Phyllidiella rudmani from Sabah, Malaysia

June 29, 2007
From: Richard Swann

Hi Bill

I am pulling out what little hair I have left trying to ID these guys. I think they are Phyllidiopsis pipeki or Phyllidiopsis krempfi but there are a few others they also resemble, the rhinophores do not seem to have a distinct black line along the posterior edge with pink front edge but rather all black with pink base or just all black.

Your help would be much appreciated, i have sent three images for you to take a look at, the mating pair was taken on 17 January 2007 and the threesome was taken on 10 February 2007.

Locality: Island close to Kota Kinabalu, 10-14 meters, Sabah, Borneo, South China Sea, 17th January 2007 and 10th February 2007, Fringing reef . Length: unsure of exact length. Photographer: Richard Swann.

Best regards
Richard

richard@downbelow.co.uk

Swann, R., 2007 (Jun 29) Phyllidiella rudmani from Sabah, Malaysia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19480

Dear Richard,

The rhinophore colour is wrong for both P. pipeki or P. krempfi.   

I think the pair in the top photo are Phyllidiella rudmani, as they have a pinkish body colour, the rhinophores are black apically and orange-pink basally, the tubercles are rounded and the black lines - at least in the left animal - are essentially a single pair. I know the animal on the right has a line running across behind the rhinophores so I can't be 100% sure, but another possibility, P. granulatus, has black rather than pink and black rhinophores.

The animals in the bottom photo are probably P. rudmani as well but we really need to see the rest of the rhinophores to see if they are all black. Also if we could see the underside we could see the colour of the oral tentacles - black-tipped in P. granulatus and white in P. rudmani. If you feel like photographing the underside of these animals in the field in future it could be quite valuable - if a pain for you.

If I'm right it looks like the colour pattern of P. rudmani could at times vary from just a pair of black lines. I note an orange sponge - possibly its food - in the left of the lower photo.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jun 29). Comment on Phyllidiella rudmani from Sabah, Malaysia by Richard Swann. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19480

Factsheet

Phyllidiella rudmani

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