Trailing Platydoris striata from the Red Sea

September 22, 2007
From: Kamal El Tawil


Dear Bill,
I suspect these are Platydoris striata. Ii found them on a night dive trailing on a sandy bottom. They seem to be shy animals as they disappeared in a small crevice escaping my dive and strobe lights. There are only 3 postings for this species on the Forum, is this an indication that these animals are rarely seen ?

Locality: Shuab Sweedy near Toyota wreck, 12 meters, Sudan, Red Sea, 13 april, Offshore reef. Length: 150 mms. Photographer: Kamal El Tawil.

Kindest regards,
Kamal el Tawil
www.coralworld.net

kamal@coralworld.net

El Tawil, K., 2007 (Sep 22) Trailing Platydoris striata from the Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20762

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dear Kamal,
This is what I have always called P. striata, but a recent publication has considered that species to be a colour form of the red-spotted P. cruenta [see my comments #20542 on why I think we should at least at present retain P. striata].

It's interesting to see another opisthobranch 'trailing'. What appeared to be  chromodorid behaviour seems to be quite widespread. Concerning how rare they are, it's a bit hard to say. A lot of these large 'flat dorids' are not that commonly seen. Personally I think they are much more abundant than we think but they are extremely well camouflaged and are often found in loose coral rubble and areas with lots of cracks and crevices. It is surprising how they can squeeze and distort their bodies to fit into seemingly impossible spaces, including the middle of a dead Acropora skeleton. I think we probably just don't see most of them.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Sep 22). Comment on Trailing Platydoris striata from the Red Sea by Kamal El Tawil. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20762

Factsheet

Platydoris striata

Related messages

  1. Re: Platydoris striata from Reunion Is.
    From: Philibert Bidgrain, April 25, 2008
  2. Re: Trailing Platydoris striata from the Red Sea
    From: Kamal El Tawil, September 26, 2007
  3. Platydoris striata from the Seychelles
    From: David K A Barnes, August 30, 2007
  4. Platydoris striata from Christmas Island
    From: W.B. Rudman, May 2, 2002
  5. Platydoris striata from Red Sea
    From: Erwin Koehler, October 6, 2000

Show factsheet and all related messages