Doriopsis flabellifera
(Cheeseman, 1881)
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Dorididae
DISTRIBUTION
Endemic to New Zealand. Known only from the North Island.
PHOTO
No locality details available. Photo: Michael C. Miller
Yellow, medium sized dorid, growing to aprox 30 mm in length. The mantle is rough and firm to touch, without obvious tubercles. The most distinctive feature, other than its colour, is the arrangement of the gills in a posteriorly facing horizontal fan, with a flap of mantle forming a dorsal cover [See Michael Miller's photo above].
This is possibly a southern form of the Indo-West Pacific species Doriopsis granulosa. [see that species' Fact Sheet for further discussion].
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Cheeseman, T. F. (1881) On some new species of nudibranchiate Mollusca. Transactions and Proceedings of the New Zealand Institute, 13, 222-224.
Rudman, W.B., 2009 (March 26) Doriopsis flabellifera (Cheeseman, 1881). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/doriflab
Related messages
Doriopsis flabellifera from near Auckland, New Zealand
March 26, 2009
From: Graham Bould
Dear Bill,
Here is a small yellow seaslug found under rock at Whangaparaoa near Auckland, NZ. Could it be Ctenodoris flabellifera or Dendrodoris citrina?
In the photos attached, not of very good quality - the animal is moving left to right in shallow pool.
Locality: Rocky shore at low tide, 10 cm, New Zealand, Pacific, 24 March 2009, Rocky ledges & pools . Length: 15 mm. Photographer: Graham Bould.
Graham Bould.
graham@grahambould.net
Bould, G., 2009 (Mar 26) Doriopsis flabellifera from near Auckland, New Zealand. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22360
Dear Graham,
If you look at the Fact Sheets for the two species, the differences in the gills show that this is Doriopsis flabellifera. Species of Doriopsis have the gills arranged in a posteriorly pointing horizontal fan while in species of Dendrodoris - any most other dorids for that matter - have the gills arranged in a circle. Have a look also at message #9353.
The genus name Ctenodoris is no longer used. Interestingly cteno and pecten (which is the species name of another Doriopsis) are based on the Latin word for a comb - a referennce to the shape of the gills.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
