Chromodoris woodwardae & C. tumulifera

March 7, 2003
From: Nishina Masayoshi

Dear Bill,
I have noticed that the animal in the lower right photo on the Chromodoris woodwardae Fact Sheet and my photo of Chromodoris tumulifera from Echizen look very similar. What are the key differences between Chromodoris woodwardae Rudman, 1983 and Chromodoris tumulifera Collingwood, 1881? I wonder if C. tumulifera and C. woodwardae are the same?

Best Regards,
Nishina Masayoshi

nishina@wips.co.jp

Masayoshi, N., 2003 (Mar 7) Chromodoris woodwardae & C. tumulifera. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9210

Dear Nishina,
The white colour form of C. woodwardae does have some similarities to C. tumulifera but I guess the most obvious difference is that in C. tumulifera the yellow mantle border is submarginal and usually a series of short lines, while in C. woodwardae it is a continuous yellow band right at the edge. Also the red spots in C. woodwardae usually are ringed with a white band, slightly different in colour to the background white of the mantle.

Anatomically they have major differences, most noticeably in the radula, and C. tumulifera grows to a much larger size. Also C. woodwardae is endemic to southeastern Australia while C. tumulifera is a widespread tropical Indo-West Pacific species. These are two of a large group of red-spotted species which can be distinguished from each other by a combination of anatomical and colour features.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Mar 7). Comment on Chromodoris woodwardae & C. tumulifera by Nishina Masayoshi. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9210

Factsheet

Chromodoris tumulifera

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