Phyllidiella lizae from Indonesia
October 5, 2003
From: Yasman
Dear Bill,
Up to now, I keep this species as a Phyllidiella granulata. The body and rhinophores's color are white. It was collected at Pramuka Island, Thousand Islands National Park, Indonesia (June, 15 2002). By just comparing the specimen to Brunckhorst's pictures, it only seems to fit P. granulata. I have only two specimens of the species.
Best regards,
Yasman
yasman.yasman@uni-duesseldorf
Dear Yasman,
I suspect this species is Phyllidiella lizae. The rhinophores in P. granulata are black so your description of them being white in these animals suggests P. lizae in which they are pink and white with a greyish black tip. Another cgaracteristic of P. lizae is the black rectangular spot in the centre of the dorsum with a diagonal line running out from each corner. Although not as obvious as the photo of the holotype, your photo certainly shows 4 greyish grooves in the right place.
I am afraid it is still early days in our understanding of the species in this family. We still need to do a lot more sampling and research into their biology before we can confidently identify the species. Brunckhorst's revision was a major advance in our understanding of the family, but as with all taxonomic revisions, I am sure there will be aspects of it that will need to be revised. We will only be able to do that when we accumulate a lot more information.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman
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