Hawaiian Chromodoris decora

September 14, 2007
From: Scott Johnson


Hi Bill,

These three photos show Chromodoris decora from the Hawaiian Islands, from where the species was originally described by Pease. At least in the late 1970s they were relatively common along the wall of the channel leading into the Ala Wai Yacht Harbor in Honolulu, where they seemed to primarily feed on a jet black sponge. A specimen eating a small patch of the sponge is shown in the lower photo. Hawaiian specimens resemble one of the two distinct forms from the Marshalls in that they have purple spots within the white middorsal markings. However, they lack the scattered discrete white spots seen in Marshall Islands specimens of that form, instead having larger white patches along the very edge of the margin.

Locality: Oahu, 5m, Hawaii, USA, Pacific, 1979, Exposed on channel walls. Length: 15-20 mm. Photographer: Scott Johnson.

Scott Johnson

uwkwaj@yahoo.com

Johnson, S., 2007 (Sep 14) Hawaiian Chromodoris decora. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20697

Dear Scott,

Thanks for all these photo showing colour variation and feeding in C. decora. Your upper photo is almost a perfect match for Pease's written description.

'Dorsal region pale straw-colour, with a medial whitish longitudinal stripe, which is bifurcated posteriorly and dotted with purple. The margin of the mantle is bordered with white and dotted with purple; an intramarginal light red band, contiguous with a yellow one, which is dotted with purple ....'   Pease, 1860, p.29.

  • Pease, W.H. (1860). Descriptions of new species of mollusca from the Sandwich Islands. Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London, 28: 18-37.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Sep 14). Comment on Hawaiian Chromodoris decora by Scott Johnson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20697

Factsheet

Chromodoris decora

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