Aphelodoris sp. 2
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Dorididae
DISTRIBUTION
Southern Australia
PHOTO
Port Phillip Bay, Victoria. 25mm long alive. October 1978. PHOTO: John Fields.
Although not visible in the photo, this animal has a dull translucent white foot with a pale orange border. According to Burn (1989) who considers each species has a unique geographic range, this is Aphelodoris rossquicki, but it differs considerably from that species in colour pattern. It does however look quite like the animal I am tentatively identifying as Aphelodoris greeni, which is said to be restricted to Northern Tasmania.
References:
•Burn, R. (1966) Notes on opisthobranchs mainly from South Australia. Records of the South Australian Museum, 15: 329-352.
•Burn, R. (1989) Chapter 12. Opisthobranchs: 725-788. In: Marine Invertebrates of South Australia, Part 2. [Eds: S.A.Shepherd., I.M. Thomas]. South Australian Govt. Printing Office: Adelaide.
Rudman, W.B., 2000 (April 20) Aphelodoris sp. 2 [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/aphesp2
