Pleurobranchus forskalii from South China Sea

May 9, 2003
From: Audrey Koh


Hi there!
We were doing a liveaboard weekend to the Udang Oil Rigs on White Manta (www.whitemanta.com) and stopped to do an Exploratory Night Dive at Pulau Durai on our way back. It's the first time we have dived at this particular Island and we came across this huge sea slug. We were puzzled for a few days and did research to find out what it is. My day dive buddy, Maria, found a similar match on your web site. :-)

We were very excited about this finding and we hope that you could confirm what it is for us. My buddy, Peter, did more than 180 dives & I did more than 140 dives and this is the first time we saw it.

As I am an amateur photographer, the photos didn't come out well. It's really a bright burgundy red and it came out blackish red instead. :-( But I hope it will help start some documentation of findings in the South China Sea region. Here's more details:

Date/Time: 23 Apr 2003 20:05:48
Location: Pulau Durai, Anambas Islands, Indonesia, South China Sea- Found underneath a coral reef.
Colour: Bright Burgundy Red with White Patterns. Size: 25cm to 30cm. Water Temp: 29 - 30 Degree Celcius., Max Depth: 9 metres

I think it is Pleurobranchus forskalii?? Could you confirm please.
Audrey Koh

audrey_koh@hotmail.com

Koh, A., 2003 (May 9) Pleurobranchus forskalii from South China Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9791

Dear Audrey,
Yes this is the dark form of Pleurobranchus forskalii. It can grow to more than 30cm but is normally about half that size. Thanks for the information about yourself which I have added to the Participants List.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (May 9). Comment on Pleurobranchus forskalii from South China Sea by Audrey Koh. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9791

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