Chromodoris albopunctata
(Garrett, 1879)
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Chromodorididae
DISTRIBUTION
Indo-West Ppacific
PHOTO
UPPER: W side Bongoyo Is, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, June 1 1976. MIDDLE: 6km N of Kunduchi Beach, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, 6 February 1974. On sponge covered rock. LOWER: SE Orpheus Is, North Queensland, Australia, April 1985. PHOTOS: Bill Rudman.
Considerable variation in mantle colour from red to yellow, but in all cases there is a pattern of white spots and and rings and a pale blue border. In all specimens the ubderside of the mantle and all the body and foot are bright yellow. Grows to 3cm or more.
Reference:
• Garrett, A. (1879). Description of a new species of Goniobranchus. Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia, (1879): 31.
Rudman, W.B., 2000 (February 25) Chromodoris albopunctata (Garrett, 1879). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/chroalbop
Related messages
Chromodoris albopunctata from South Africa
October 21, 2005
From: Valda Fraser
Dear Bill
I would like you to confirm that this is Chromodoris albopunctata.
Locality: Pumula, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Indian Ocean coast. Depth: 28 m. Length: 35 mm. June 2004. Rocky reef. Photographer: Valda Fraser
Thanks,
Valda.
valdafraser@mweb.co.za
Fraser, V.J, 2005 (Oct 21) Chromodoris albopunctata from South Africa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15064Dear Valda,
Yes this is C. albopunctata. The bright yellow underside is a good character of this species.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Chromodoris albopunctata from SE Sulawesi
March 1, 2000
From: Lindsay Warren
Dear Bill
Another specimen which was found by Dean Lea at 7am on 31 July 1999 at a depth of 8 m moving over algae on a vertical piece of dead table coral on Pulau Kaledupa [Tukang Besi Archipelago, SE Sulawesi, Indonesia - Operation Wallacea]. Size: 4 mm. When stationary it tends to become more circular in shape.
The body and foot are yellow with a degree of irregular speckling of orange on the notum. The mantle edge is lilac followed by a band of blue with red spots which then gives way to yellow. There are five branches to the
branchial plume which is clear with dark orange / red central line. The rhinophores are lamellate retractile with translucent yellow base becoming orange towards the tip and a white line running down the front and back. Photo: Lindsay Warren.
Have you come across this chap before?
All the best
Lindsay Warren
100014.2112@compuserve.com
Warren, L., 2000 (Mar 1) Chromodoris albopunctata from SE Sulawesi. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1967Dear Lindsay,
By coincidence your photo arrived when I was preparing a page for the very species - Chromodoris albopunctata. If you look at Scott Johnson's message he has a photo of an identical coloured juvenile (e039-3) from the Marshall Islands.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
Variation in Chromodoris albopunctata
February 26, 2000
From: Scott Johnson
Hi Bill,
Attached also are some photos of Chromodoris albopunctata, which is one of my favorite species. E039-3 shows juvenile coloration, which is similar to the species Chromodoris briqua described from Enewetak by Marcus & Burch (1965). C. briqua had reddish spots on yellow, but the marginal banding and yellow underside and
foot match, and in all my years in the Marshalls, I haven't yet found another Chromodoris with a yellow foot. All of these pictures are of Marshall Islands specimens except for the two from Hawaii labeled h130-1 and h130-3. Interestingly, there is some marginal color variation. In most of the specimens, the margin is light, bright blue or purplish-blue at the very edge, with submarginal bands of dark blue-black and then yellow. In one Hawaiian specimen, h130-1, the outer margin is dark blue while the submarginal bands are light blue and yellow.
Reference:
•Marcus, E.G. & J.B. Burch. 1965. Marine euthyneuran Gastropoda from Eniwetok Atoll, western Pacific. Malacologia 3(2): 235-262.
Scott
johnson@kmr.ll.mit.edu
Dear Scott,
Thanks for another interesting set of photos and information. I agree that the yellow foot of this animal is quite unique among the genus. I used to call it by its east African name Chromodoris sykesi Eliot but the mantle colour variation in specimens in east Africa (which I illustrate at the top of the page) ranged from yellow to the bright red of your central Pacific material.
best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
