Flabellina sp. 8
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: AEOLIDINA
Family: Flabellinidae
PHOTO
Locality: Tasi Tolu, 17 meters, East Timor, Banda Sea, 19 February 2007, sandy slope. Length: 1 cm. Photographer: Brian Francisco.
Purple rhinophores and ring of red spots on cerata seem distinctive. In one specimens rhinophores appear to be smooth but in another, there are plates or brackets running halfway around the rhinophores.
Authorship detailsRudman, W.B., 2007 (June 23) Flabellina sp. 8 [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/flabsp8
Related messages
Flabellina sp. 8 in the Marshall Islands
August 23, 2007
From: Scott Johnson
Hi Bill,
Looking at the recent messages on Flabellina sp. 8 (#20306, #20205 ) brought to mind one of my unidentified species from the Marshall Islands. The attached animals seem to be this species, although mine are a lot less brightly colored than specimens figured from Indonesia. Even the ring of red spots on the cerata is subdued. My seven recorded specimens were all from Enewetak Atoll on pier pilings or lagoon pinnacle reefs at depths of about 5 to 12 meters, and ranged from 6 to 11mm in length. Attached are photos of three of them.
Locality: Enewetak Atoll, 5-12 m, Marshall Islands, Pacific, March and April, 1983, Lagoon pinnacle reefs. Length: 6-11 mm. Photographer: Scott Johnson.
Scott Johnson.
uwkwaj@yahoo.com
Thanks Scott,
As I mentioned before, this animal certainly has rhinophores like Aeolidia obscura Risbec, 1928 from New Caledonia, but your animals for Okinawa made me wonder if Baba had described anything similar from Japan with similar rhinophores. His Cratena pinnifera Baba, 1949 does indeed have similar rhinophores, and in general colour is very similar to your animals. However he described rounded foot corners, while in your animals the anterior foot corners are definitely tentacular. Cratena pinnifera also has a Cuthona-like radula which suggests it is more likely to be a tergipedid than a Cratena. However it is unusual to have a Cuthona with such rhinophores, so perhaps Cratena pinnifera needs to be re-examined as well.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Flabellina sp. 8 from Lembeh, Indonesia
August 10, 2007
From: Mona Dienhart
Back from Lembeh, I still haven't found the right ID for the following nudibranch. It was found on one of the spots on the corals. I browsed already to your existing list but didn't find anything similar.
Locality: Lembeh , 12 m, Sulawesi, Indonesia, Lembeh Straits, Molucca Sea, 27 April 2007, light current. Length: 3 cm. Photographer: Mona Dienhart.
Mona Dienhart
monalisa1@ekit.com
Dear Mona,
This is an animal I am calling Flabellina sp. 8. We already have 3 messages about this species on the Forum, and now we have yours. Before that it seems to have been completely unknown. Ypur photo shows the quite unusual half ridges [brackets] on the rhinophores.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Re: Flabellina from East Timor
July 30, 2007
From: Brian Francisco
Concerning message #19503:
Bill,
Thanks for commenting on this Flabellina. I searched our archives for a photo that shows the rhinophores with a bit more clarity. It's not super clear, but this photo shows the rhinophores as not quite smooth, but slightly textured. Does this help with identification?
Thanks again
Brian
francisco.brian@gmail.com
Francisco, B., 2007 (Jul 30) Re: Flabellina from East Timor. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20205
Dear Brian,
Thanks for clearing up the rhinophore shape. It doesn't help solve the identification problem but it means I don't need to look at any more species with smooth rhinophores. I have just received another message [#20306 ] and the accompanying photo shows 'half-ridges' or brackets on the rhinophores very clearly.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Flabellina sp. 8 from Indonesia
July 30, 2007
From: Ken Tucker
I cannot match to anything I have seen.
Locality: North Sulawesi, Lembeh Strait, 12 metres, Indonesia, Celebes, 28 Nov 2006. Length: 2 cm. Photographer: Ken Tucker.
Ken Tucker
ken@kilili.com
Tucker, K.C., 2007 (Jul 30) Flabellina sp. 8 from Indonesia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20306
Dear Ken,
By coincidence I have just prepared an answer for a message on this species from East Timor [#20205]. The clue is the pattern of red spots around the cerata. Your photo shows the nature of the brackets on the rhinophores very clearly.
I don't know any species of Flabellina which matches this species in colour and rhinophore morphology but interestingly Risbec (1928) described a small aeolid from New Caledonia with very similar rhinophores, Aeolidia obscura. In general body shape and ceratal arrangement it looks the same, and there is nothing contradictory in his colour description. However there is no mention of a ring of red spots around each ceras. he does describe a rather unusual radular tooth however, so perhaps if we could get the radula from a specimen of 'Flabellina sp. 8' we could see if it was 'Aeolidia obscura'.
-
Risbec, J., 1928. Contribution à l'étude des nudibranches Néo Calédoniens. Faune des Colonies Françaises, 2: 1- 328.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Flabellina from East Timor
July 10, 2007
From: Brian Francisco
Bill
We found this interesting Flabellina yesterday. I thought it was unusual because of the little purplish dots on the cerata.
Locality: Tasi Tolu, 17 meters, East Timor, Banda Sea, 19 February 2007, sandy slope. Length: 1 cm. Photographer: Brian Francisco.
Brian
francisco.brian@gmail.com
Francisco, B., 2007 (Jul 10) Flabellina from East Timor. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19503
Dear Brian,
This certainly looks like a species of Flabellina but it is not a species I am familar with. The red spots in a ring around each ceras is very distinctive. The purple rhinophores appear smooth, which also distinguishes it from most tropical Indo-West Pacific species.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
