Ceratosoma miamiranum from the Philippines

July 22, 2008
From: Marcel Tanke

Concerning message #20614:

Dear Bill,
I checked the Platydoris in the pictures attached against all Platydoris species on your website, but could not find a fit. Do you know what species it is??

Locality: Anilao, site Kirby's Rock, 10 meters, Philippines, 12 July 2008, rocky / sandy bottom. Length: about 15-20 cm. Photographer: Marcel Tanke.

Further, it has a grey-whitish formation on its back, just in front of the gills. Any suggestion what that might be?

Best regards,
Marcel

marceltanke@cs.com

Tanke, M.A., 2008 (Jul 22) Ceratosoma miamiranum from the Philippines. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21719

Dear Marcel,

Your animal certainly looks like a Platydoris, and its hard leathery consistency makes it feel like a Platydoris, but it is in fact a strange chromodorid, whose internal anatomy suggests it is a Ceratosoma. It certainly doesn't look much  like most species of Ceratosoma, but the grey-whitish 'formation' in front of the gills which you ask about, may be a good clue. One characteristic of most species of Ceratosoma is the large recurved dorsal horn [see C. trilobatum]. Perhaps this 'formation' in your species is a very small 'dorsal horn'.

This is the brownish colored form of Ceratosoma miamiranum. It ranges from quite a bright orange -brown to a mottled green and it is often very well camouflaged. The best way to identfy this species is to turn it over - the bright white background with a network of green lines is present in all colour forms.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Jul 22). Comment on Ceratosoma miamiranum from the Philippines by Marcel Tanke. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21719

Factsheet

Ceratosoma miamiranum

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