Armina muelleri
(von Ihering, 1886)
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: ARMININA
Family: Arminidae
DISTRIBUTION
Reported from southern Brazil [Florianopolis to Sao Paulo]. May have a wider distribution to the Caribbean.
Originally described from Florianopolis in southern Brazil (v. Ihering, 1886), but identity still problematic. Like many species of Armina the animal was described as dark, almost black, with light yellow or pale reddish ridges on the mantle. Ihering described the lateral radula teeth as being smooth, lacking denticles. Marcus & Marcus (1970) identify animals from Sao Paulo with this species and describe a radula in which the first lateral teeth ocasionally has one outer denticle, and the other lateral teeth can have up to 4 outer denticles. They also consider specimens from Surinam, (Njissen-Meyer, 1965) identified as A. semperi, to be A. muelleri. If this identfication is correct, it would increase the range of the species into the Caribbean.
See Néstor Ardila's message [#12433] suggesting that Armina abbotti is a synonym.
References:
• Ihering, H. v. 1886a. Zur Kenntniss der Nudibranchien der brasilianischen Kuste. Jahrbucher der Deutsche Malakozoologische Gesellschaft 13(3): 223-240, pl. 9.
• Marcus, Ev. & Marcus, Er. (1960) Opisthobranchs from American Atlantic warm waters. Bulletin of Marine Science of the Gulf and Caribbean, 10(2): 129-203.
• Marcus, E. & Marcus, E (1967) Tropical American opisthobranchs. Studies of Tropical Oceanography, 6: 3-137.
Rudman, W.B., 2004 (March 15) Armina muelleri (von Ihering, 1886). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/armimuel
