Re: Bornella stellifer? from Singapore [2]

February 12, 2009
From: Toh Chay Hoon

Concerning message #22199:

Dear Dr Bill,

Here are 2 more photos of the nudibranch taken from another angle. Hope this helps.

Locality: Pulau Hantu, 13 m, Singapore, South China Sea, 29 April 2007, On silty rubbles/substrate. Length: 35 mm. Photographer: Toh Chay Hoon.

Thanks.
Chay Hoon

 

sonnenflower@gmail.com

Toh C.H., 2009 (Feb 12) Re: Bornella stellifer? from Singapore [2]. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22250

Dear Chay Hoon,

Thanks very much for the extra photos. I suspect this is an unnamed species which has escaped our notice. Perhaps it is a very extreme form of Bornella hermanni? There seem to be only three pairs of dorso-lateral processes as in that species, while in B. stellifer we would expect five or six. However the dorso-lateral processes are shaped more as in B. hermanni, with one major lobe or papilla, and a number of smaller ones. However the heavy white pigmentation and red reticulate pattern, even on the dorso-lateral processes, are quite different. In this animal the major papilla in each lateral process, and the major papilla on the rhinophore sheaths is contoured with vertical wrinkles which seem present even when the processes are extended. The papillae also have a reddish reticulate pattern, in some cases the red extending into larger patches.

The rhinophore sheath is similar to B. hermanni in shape, but again, the red reticulate pattern is quite different. The translucent red of the rhinophores and in some animals the gills as well, is unusual, but it could just be a manifestation of a population with an excess of red pigmentation. I could call this Bornella cf. hermanni, but that might be confusing, so until we can examine specimens anatomically I have separated it as Bornella sp. 2.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2009 (Feb 12). Comment on Re: Bornella stellifer? from Singapore [2] by Toh Chay Hoon. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22250

Factsheet

Bornella sp. 2

Related messages

  1. Re: Bornella stellifer? from Singapore [3]
    From: Toh Chay Hoon, February 12, 2009
  2. Bornella stellifer? from Singapore
    From: Toh Chay Hoon, January 29, 2009
  3. Bornella stellifer From Bintan, Indonesia
    From: Alice Lee, August 16, 2002

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