Dendrodoris sp. from Northern Marianas Ids

July 5, 2007
From: Harry Blalock

Hi Bill,

I recently sent you an e-mail about Halgerda guahan and Halgerda malesso. I have a few others that I have taken pictures of that I haven't been able to id up to now. Thanks for your help on these.

Locality: Lau Lau Bay, 60', Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, Pacific, under rocks and on rubble. Length: 1-2". Photographer: Harry Blalock.

Sincerely,
Harry Blalock

harryblalock@gmail.com

Blalock, H., 2007 (Jul 5) Dendrodoris sp. from Northern Marianas Ids. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19938

Dear Harry,
I am in the process of cleaning out the backlog of messages so to save time I have not prepared the images of the two other species you had on this message. They were both flatworms. This animal though is very interesting as I am sure it is a species of Dendrodoris and it looks as though it is a species like D. elongata which, as its name suggests, can greatly elongate as it stretches out in a leech-like form of locomotion. When I first saw your photo I thought it had a series of pale star-shaped patches on the mantle but on closer examination they appear to be branching papillae. Another species with leech-like locomotion is the sea hare Dolabrifera dolabrifera, which also has branching papillae.  I guess its going too far to suggest these two species are mimicking each other but it is quite a coincidence.

At this stage I am not sure if your animal is just a form of D. elongata or a separate species. If it is a separate species I am not sure if it has a name. I certainly can't recall a species with branched papillae like this

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Jul 5). Comment on Dendrodoris sp. from Northern Marianas Ids by Harry Blalock. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19938

Factsheet

Dendrodoris elongata

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