Marionia cyanobranchiata
(Ruppell & Leuckart, 1831)
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DENDRONOTINA
Family: Tritoniidae
PHOTO
Original painting Tab. 4. Fig. 3. Tritonia cyanobranchiata . Ruppell & Leuckart, 1831.
One of a number of tritoniids described by Ruppell & Leuckart from the Red Sea. Jim Anderson's photos match the original illustration quite well. At this stage we do not know if the many available names for these soft-coral feeding tritoniids represent good species or colour variations. See Marionia rubra.
Reference:
• Rüppell, E, & Leuckart, F.S. (1828-1831). Atlas zu der Reise im nördlichen Afrika von Eduard Rüppell. Neue wirbellose Thiere des rothen Meers. 15-47, Pl. 1-12.
Rudman, W.B., 2002 (February 3) Marionia cyanobranchiata (Ruppell & Leuckart, 1831). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/maricyan
Related messages
Marionia cyanobranchiata from the Red Sea
September 10, 2005
From: Tal Darom
Hi,
I have seen this in a sandy lagoon in the Red Sea during a night dive.
It seems to be Marionia cyanobranchiata, is it so?
Locality: Shaab Mahmoud, Red Sea, on the coast of Sinai desert, Egypt. Red Sea. Depth: ~4 meters. Length: 120 mm. 24 August 2005. laying on the sand. Photographer: Tal Darom
Regards,
Tal Darom
talda@eng.tau.ac.il
Darom, T., 2005 (Sep 10) Marionia cyanobranchiata from the Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/14677Dear Tal,
Thanks for this. Yes it is Marionia cyanobranchiata. We don't have many records of this species, but the colour pattern seems to be very characteristic.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Marionia cyanobranchiata from the Red Sea
February 5, 2002
From: Jim Anderson
Dear Dr. Rudman,
I attach a couple of images of an animal I have tentatively identified as a Marionopsis sp. based on an example in Debelius.
The images were taken on a night dive in the Red Sea on 19 Oct 1996 at Wadi Jamal dive site, Egypt, in 11 M depth. The animal was approx 125mm long and found out crawling across the sand bottom.
Kind regards,
Jim A
jander4454@aol.com
Dear Jim,
This is an almost perfect match for Ruppell & Leuckart's Tritonia cyanobranchiata, which is probably best placed in the genus Marionia. The greenish-blue gills and the dark marking on the dorsum are very distinctive. There are very few confirmed sightings of this species since 1831, but I suspect this is a reflection of collecting effort rather than evidence that the species is rare.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
