Chelidonura flavolobata? from SE Sulawesi

June 16, 2002
From: Lindsay Warren

Dear Bill
I wonder if you might be able to shed some light on the identify of this little Chelidonura Unfortunately the photo was very underexposed and the specimen too small for the level of magnification available at the time.

The closest ID I could find was that of Chelidonura flavolobata (Heller & Thompson 1983) given the yellow patches on either side of its head. However, there is a broad white band along the anterior edge which does not seem to appear in the photos of C. flavolobata that you have on the Forum.
In addition to this on this specimen there faint spots along the parapodia and the tail is edged in pale yellow reminiscent of Chelidonura amoena.

It was found on 17 June 1999 by Richard Smith on Pulau Hoga, Tukang Besi Archipelago, SE Sulawesi. Approx size: 10mm. [Operation Wallacea OWN229 (OS0395)]. Photo: Lindsay Warren.

Many thanks for your help.
All the best
Lindsay

alldcl@compuserve.com

Warren, L., 2002 (Jun 16) Chelidonura flavolobata? from SE Sulawesi. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7099

Dear Lindsay,
I agree that the yellow lobes do suggest C. flavolobata, but I think you are also right in thinking it may be C. amoena. Apart from colour similarities you may notice that the head in your animal is trilobed - that is there is a notch on each side of the midline at the anterior end - which is what we find in C. amoena but appears to be absent in C. flavolobata. At present, C. flavolobata is known only from the Red Sea region. My feeling is that your animal is a juvenile of C. amoena, but I can't be 100% certain because our knowledge of colour variation in these species is very poor.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Jun 16). Comment on Chelidonura flavolobata? from SE Sulawesi by Lindsay Warren. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7099

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