Phyllidia exquisita from NW Australia

May 9, 1999
From: Clay Bryce

Dear Bill,
Here is another species, perhaps a new record?, from the Dampier Archipelago in the Kimberley region, Northwestern Australia.

WAM1461: Is this Phyllidia exquisita - note the yellow mantle margin on the
anterior end. This animal is consistent in colour from Shark Bay to the Montebellos Is and Dampier Archipelago. I haven't as yet checked my slides to see if it goes further north.

Clay Bryce,
W.A. Museum
Perth.

brycec@museum.wa.gov.au

Bryce, C., 1999 (May 9) Phyllidia exquisita from NW Australia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/838

Dear Clay,
I think you are right. Brunckhorst notes that tubercles are black when they are on a black background and yellow capped on a white background. I suspect the bluish background in your animal suggests a slightly more mature animal. His photo shows a yellow border around the anterior end but his description describes the yellow border continuing right around the mantle edge. I guess the yellow border being confined to the anterior end in your animals and his photo (at Top of Page) may just be a coincidence and not necessarily a constant characteristic of the species.

I think Thailand is the only Indian Ocean record so NW Australia is quite a range extension.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 1999 (May 9). Comment on Phyllidia exquisita from NW Australia by Clay Bryce. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/838

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