Chromodoris geometrica & C. conchyliata

June 27, 2005
From: Colin Ogden

Hi Bill,
These photos were taken recently in Sodwana Bay.

Locality: Sodwana Bay, South Africa, Indian Ocean. Depth: 19 to 24 metres. Length: 25 mm. May and June 2005. Coral reef. Photographer: Colin Ogden

I believe the nudi in the upper photo is a Chromodoris conchyliata because of the reddish tinge to gills and rhinopores, and also the yellowish pustules on its back compared to the other 2 nudis which I think are the Chromodoris geometrica. Although these 2 also appear to be slightly different, they do have a black section on their tails just below the "mantle"
Am I correct in my ID.
Regards
Colin

scubaco@iafrica.com

Ogden C M, 2005 (Jun 27) Chromodoris geometrica & C. conchyliata. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14131

Dear Colin,
You are correct in your identifications. Have a look at Valda Fraser's message [#2570] asking about this very question. When I first reported on C. conchyliata from Kenya in 1973 I thought it was probably a regional colour form of C. geometrica but the information we now have on the Forum, and the existence of both 'forms' in South Africa, suggest they are both good species. The most obvious external difference is the colour of the gills and rhinophores - green-tipped in C. geometrica and orange-tipped in C. conchyliata - but your certainly the black markings on the posterior foot of C. geometrica may also be a good external difference.

As I said to Valda, it would be nice to get photos of their food sponges and egg ribbons.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (Jun 27). Comment on Chromodoris geometrica & C. conchyliata by Colin Ogden. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14131

Factsheet

Chromodoris conchyliata

Related messages

  1. Chromodoris conchyliata laying eggs
    From: Hugues Flodrops, May 8, 2007
  2. Chromodoris conchyliata feeding observation
    From: Hugues Flodrops, May 8, 2007
  3. Chromodoris conchyliata query feeding on sponge
    From: Colin Ogden, October 7, 2005
  4. Chromodoris conchyliata from Burma
    From: Sergey Parinov, June 22, 2005
  5. Chromodoris conchyliata from Reunion island
    From: Philibert Bidgrain, February 16, 2005
  6. Chromodoris conchyliata from the Maldives
    From: Orhan Aytur, March 20, 2003
  7. Chromodoris conchyliata from Myanmar
    From: Mary Jane Adams, March 20, 2003
  8. Deformed Chromodoris conchyliata
    From: Valda Fraser, July 7, 2000
  9. Chromodoris conchyliata from Thailand
    From: N. Sittithaweepat, April 6, 2000

Show factsheet and all related messages