Chelidonura from the Red Sea

April 19, 2005
From: Binyamin Koretz

Hi Bill,

Is this Chelidonura sandrana, or perhaps Chelidonura punctata?

Locality: Eilat, Lighthouse Beach. Depth: 9 m. Israel, Red Sea (Gulf of Eilat). Length: 18 mm. 08 April 2005. sand and occasional corals. Photographer: Binyamin and Shulamit Koretz.

Thanks and regards
Binyamin

binyamin@koretz.net

Koretz, B., 2005 (Apr 19) Chelidonura from the Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13504

Dear Binyamin,
I don't think this is either of the species you mention. C. sandrana has a very characteristic shape, and C. punctata has very long 'tails'.

There are many problematical yellow-spotted species of Chelidonura which still need to be sorted out. One I have not mentioned before is Chelidonura castanea Yonow 1994, which was described from the Maldives as brownish with yellow spots and with white edging to the parapodia and the head shield. It is possibly a synonym of C. punctata, but Yonow specifically says the background is not black..

Chelidonura tsurugensis has 2 white marks on the head but it differs in having no yellow spots ventrally. Other possiblilties are Chelidonura sp. 2, but as I discuss under Chelidonura sp. 6 we still need to know a lot more about colour variation within individual species. So at the moment I will call it Chelidonura sp. 7

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Apr 19). Comment on Chelidonura from the Red Sea by Binyamin Koretz. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13504

Factsheet

Chelidonura sp. 7

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