Mexichromis kempfi
(Ev. Marcus, 1970)

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Chromodorididae

DISTRIBUTION

Caribbean to Sao Paulo, Brazil.

PHOTO

Upper: Santa Marta, Colombia - Caribbean coast. 15mm long. Photo: Phanor Montoya. Lower left: Sketches of holotype by Dr Marc Kempf (from Marcus, 1970). Lower right: Laje e Santos, off Sao Paulo, Brazil. Photo: Armando de Luca Jr.

Note added 4 March 2005: Previously on the Forum as Chromodoris kempfi.

This species is unlikely to be a species of Chromodoris. from the description of the jaw rodlets - described as multicuspid, and the small and narrow radular ribbon (50 x 35.0.35), it is most likely to be a species of Mexichromis.

It was described by Marcus from two specimens from nthn Brazil, the colour description being based on the sketches, reproduced here, and the colour notes of the collector, Dr Marc Kempf, after who the species was named. The animal is blue with an orange mantle border and a white mantle midline. Around the mantle border, Kempf described "between the orange and the blue is a band of seven darker blue and seven white spots, on either side". The foot, sides of body, gills and rhinophores are blue. Armando de Luca's photo from Sao Paulo, matches that description well.  I would consider Phanor Montoya's colour form from Colombia to be a lighter colour form of this species, and a link to the even whiter animals described on the Forum from Florida [message #1415 ].

It is possible that  a new species, Mexichromis molloi Ortea & Valdés in Ortea, Valdés & García-Gómez, 1996,  from Venezuela, is also a colour variation. It has a blue mantle, with a white median line, and orange-yellow mantle border, inside of which is a dark blue band and then a white band. The gills and rhinophores are blue and there is a single white line along each side of the blue body.

  • Marcus, E. (1970) Opisthobranchs from northern Brazil. Bulletin of Marine Science, 24: 922-951.
  • Ortea, J., Valdés, A. & and García-Gómez, J.C. (1996) Revisión de las especies atlánticas de la familia Chromodorididae (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) de grupo cromático azul. [Review of the Atlantic species of the family Chromodorididae (Mollusca: Nudibranchia) of the blue chromatic group.] Avicennia, 1996, Suppl. 1: 1-165.
Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2003 (March 5) Mexichromis kempfi (Ev. Marcus, 1970). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/chrokemp

Related messages

  1. Re: Mexichromis kempfi from Little Cayman, British West Indies
    From: Vinicius Padula, November 27, 2008
  2. Mexichromis kempfi from Little Cayman, BWI
    From: Deborah Chambers, November 26, 2008
  3. Re: Mexichromis kempfi from Brazil
    From: Vinicius Padula, January 12, 2007
  4. Mexichromis kempfi from Brazil
    From: Armando de Luca Junior, January 10, 2007
  5. Mexichromis kempfi from Cozumel, Mexico
    From: Charles Hopf, October 27, 2006
  6. Mexichromis kempfi from Cozumel
    From: James Lyle, August 22, 2006
  7. Re: Nudibranch in Little Cayman?
    From: Matan Ninio, January 17, 2006
  8. Nudibranch in Little Cayman?
    From: Larissa Roorda, January 16, 2006
  9. Mexichromus kempfi from Bonaire
    From: Les Wilk, December 15, 2005
  10. Unknown chromodorid from Brazil
    From: Armando de Luca Junior, March 5, 2005
  11. Chromodoris kempfi - 'trailing' behaviour
    From: Andreas Ahrens, March 6, 2003
  12. Correct genus for Chromodoris kempfi
    From: Elianny Dominguez Tejo, March 19, 2002
  13. Chromodoris kempfi from Colombia
    From: Phanor Montoya, October 20, 2000
  14. Chromodoris kempfi? from Colombia's Caribbean coast
    From: P. Montoya, March 31, 2000
  15. Chromodoris kempfi from Florida
    From: Anne Dupont, October 11, 1999

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