Ceratosoma trilobatum from Ningaloo Reef, WA

February 7, 2008
From: Kristin J Anderson

Dear Bill

Found this brilliant orange Ceratosoma over the weekend.

Locality: Exmouth Gulf, 6 m, Western Australia, Exmouth Gulf, 03 February 2008, muddy, silty bottom, found crawling through the "weeds". Length: 7 cms. Photographer: Kristin Anderson.

Kristin Anderson

kristin@oceansbyanderson.com

Anderson, K.J., 2008 (Feb 7) Ceratosoma trilobatum from Ningaloo Reef, WA. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21360

Dear Kristin,

This is Ceratosoma trilobatum. The taxonomy of this genus used to be quite chaotic because quite sensibly we tried to separate species out on the basis of their colour patterns, just as we do in most other genera of the Chromodorididae.  However it seems that in Ceratosoma the external shape of the body and not the colour is the way to separate species. In C. trilobatum animals have a distinct ridge around the mantle edge and there is only one lateral lobe on each side. Colour is extremely variable and often almost identical to that of species of C. tenue and C. gracillimum. This bright almost uniform orange red colour form appears quite common in northern and northwestern Australia - sometimes with a purple border and sometimes without. Have a look at the page with photos of animals from Darwin in northern Australia

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Feb 7). Comment on Ceratosoma trilobatum from Ningaloo Reef, WA by Kristin J Anderson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21360

Factsheet

Ceratosoma trilobatum

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