Gymnodoris sp. 2.
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Family: Gymnodorididae
DISTRIBUTION
Red Sea
PHOTO
Red Sea, Egypt, Marsa Alam, 1997, nightdive, length ~1cm.
PHOTO: Erwin Koehler.
Known only from messages below from the Red Sea. It has similarities to juvenile animals of Gymnodoris okinawae which often have raised white pustules, but in G. okinawae the gills form an erect circle, not a posteriorly pointing row. Nothing is known of the anatomy of this Red Sea animal.
Any preserved specimens would be very welcome.
Authorship detailsRudman, W.B., 1999 (July 22) Gymnodoris sp. 2. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/gymnsp2
Related messages
Gymnodoris sp. 2. from the Marshall Islands
August 23, 1999
From: Scott Johnson
Hi Bill,
Animals that I'm sure are the same species as Erwin Koehler's Gymnodoris sp. 2 are also present here in the Marshalls. It is somewhat variable in color. I have seen lined specimens such as those already figured with the lines in magenta, red, or orange (photos E225-3 and E225-4 show the red and orange). In addition, in some specimens the lines seem to grow together and crowd out the intervening lighter color (photos E225-1 and E225-2). I've typically found them on the
slopes of lagoon pinnacles at depths of 10-20 meters, usually crawling about in the open, either day or night. They run 15-20mm long when stretched out. If you're still looking for a specimen, I think I should be able to get you one or two.
Scott
johnson@kmr.ll.mit.edu
Johnson, S., 1999 (Aug 23) Gymnodoris sp. 2. from the Marshall Islands. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1225Dear Scott,
Thanks for the photos. I would be very interested in looking at some specimens if you could find some.
Bill Rudman.
Gymnodoris sp from the Red Sea
July 31, 1999
From: Erwin Koehler
Bill,
Attached is photo by Fred Vogt, size about 12-13mm, depth 14m, Red Sea. (Place unrecorded), March 1996. It's the same as my photo of Gymnodoris sp. 2.
Erwin
Medslugs.Koehler@t-online.de
Koehler, E., 1999 (Jul 31) Gymnodoris sp from the Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1102Dear Erwin,
Thanks for another photo of this species of Gymnodoris. It definitely has a consistent colour pattern.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
Gymnodoris sp. from Red Sea
July 26, 1999
From: Erwin Koehler
Dear Bill,
hear are 2 photos from the Red Sea, Egypt, Marsa Alam 1997, nightdive, size of the slugs ~1cm.
Erwin
Medslugs.Koehler@t-online.de
Koehler, E., 1999 (Jul 26) Gymnodoris sp. from Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/1103Dear Erwin,
Sorry I didn't post these when you sent them a couple of months ago but I was preparing a talk on Gymnodoris for the Menfi workshop and thought, foolishly as it turned out, that I would be able to answer your question once I had completed my study. The white pustules and general shape are very similar to juvenile specimens of G. okinawae, but what I hadn't considered was the posteriorly pointing gills in your animal, which is a quite different arrangement from that in G. okinawae, which has a circlet of colourless erect gills.
If anyone has specimens of this species I would very much like to have a look at them.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
