Marionia rubra
(Ruppell & Leuckart, 1831)

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DENDRONOTINA
Family: Tritoniidae

DISTRIBUTION

Known from the Red Sea.

PHOTO

UPPER: Original painting Tab. 4. Fig. 1. Tritonia rubra. Ruppell & Leuckart, 1831.
LOWER: Royal Diving Center, Akaba, Jordan. Red Sea. 20m., April 2001. Photo: Jochen Scholtyssek.

One of a number of tritoniids described by Ruppell & Leuckart from the Red Sea. Jochen Scholtyssek's photo matches 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.

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.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2001 (June 25) Marionia rubra (Ruppell & Leuckart, 1831). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/marirubr

Related messages


Marionia rubra from the Red Sea

May 19, 2005
From: Oren Lederman

Hi Bill,

Just another big Marioniopsis my dive buddy found during a night dive last weekend.

Locality: The "Dekel" beach (night dive), Eilat, Israel. Red Sea. Depth: ~18 meters. Length: ~10 cm. 12 May 2005. Photographer: Oren Lederman

Oren Lederman

lederman@bigmail.co.il

Lederman, O., 2005 (May 19) Marionia rubra from the Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13793

Dear Oren,
Thanks for this. It's always good to get another piece to fit in the puzzle. The animal in this photo could have been the one used in the painting of Tritonia rubra in Ruppell & Leuckart (1831), so I have no doubts in identifying it as Marionia rubra. One feature characterising this species are the many bushy gills down each side of the body
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2005 (May 19). Comment on Marionia rubra from the Red Sea by Oren Lederman. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13793

Marionia rubra? from the Red Sea

June 27, 2001
From: Jochen Scholtyssek

Dear Bill,

Here are some Video-Pictures of a new seaslug. It is 4cm long.
Is the name Marionia rubra ?
ROYAL Diving Center, Akaba, Jordan. Red Sea. 20m., April, 2001..Diveplace Garden.

Best wishes
Jochen

joscholty@t-online.de

Scholtyssek, J., 2001 (Jun 27) Marionia rubra? from the Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4381

Dear Jochen,
Yes I think this is Marionia rubra. This group of tritoniids needs more work. At the moment it is hard to say how many species there are in the tropical Indo-West Pacific. It is possible that species vary in colour depending on the colour of the soft-corals they are feeding on but basically we don't know.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2001 (Jun 27). Comment on Marionia rubra? from the Red Sea by Jochen Scholtyssek. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/4381