Found at Mooloolaba

April 22, 1998
From: Wayne Ellis

Bill,
Here is one of Steve Grail's photos for identification. He basically told me the pics were taken 10-20m, between 1996-98 off Mooloolaba.
Regards,
Wayne Ellis

glaskin@ozemail.com.au

Ellis, W., 1998 (Apr 22) Found at Mooloolaba. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/49

This is an interesting colour form of Chromodoris splendida. The species is only found in New South Wales and southern Queensland and through most of its range it has a pattern of many medium sized spots as in the photo above. However in northern part of its range, from about Coffs Harbour north most animals have a single large red patch or in some cases are white with no red patch or spots at all. I have also seen a photograph of animals from Heron Island and the Bunker Group at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef which have many small red spots. It is possibly the same species but I have been unable to get any specimens to confirm this.

Chromodoris splendida is one of a group of species of chromodorid in southeastern Australia which have evolved a sinilar red spotted colour pattern. As with all chromodorids these species all have distasteful chemicals in their skins to deter predators. We think they mimic each other so that fish are more easily taught to leave red-spotted slugs alone. Go to my research pages for further information or straight to a page which shows a group of these red-spotted chromodorids... Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 1998 (Apr 22). Comment on Found at Mooloolaba by Wayne Ellis. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/49

Factsheet

Chromodoris splendida

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