Tritonia flemingi from New Zealand

December 14, 2001
From: Gareth Jones

Hello again Dr. Rudman.
I found this animal at the Poor Knights Islands [NE New Zealand] on the 9 December, 2001 at around 5m deep. It was about 10mm. Any help with ID appreciated as always.
Cheers
Gareth Jones

rees@divenz.co.nz

Jones, G., 2001 (Dec 14) Tritonia flemingi from New Zealand. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5828

Dear Gareth,
This is quite an interesting find. It is Tritonia flemingi which is known only from a few collecting records around the North Island. In many of Powell's books there is a painting of this species as a green animal with white markings, but it seems that is either an inaccurate colour illustration or else Powell's sole specimen was an aberrant colour pattern. We know nothing abouts its biology. I presume that like all tritoniids it feeds and lives on a similarly coloured soft coral. So it may be worth keepig an eye out for it. If you can find its food it may turn out to be more common than we think.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Dec 14). Comment on Tritonia flemingi from New Zealand by Gareth Jones. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/5828

Factsheet

Tritonia flemingi

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