Aegires flores
Fahey and Gosliner, 2004

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: ANADORIDOIDEA
Family: Aegiretidae

DISTRIBUTION

Marshall Islands, Papua New Guinea, Sulawesi, the Philippine Islands, Japan

PHOTO

Upper right: CASIZ 084277, Devil’s Point, Maricaban Island, Luzon, Philippines, 10 m, collected February 1992, 5 mm. Photo: T. Gosliner. Lower left:  CASIZ 078568, Bunaken Island, Manado, Sulawesi, Indonesia, 3 m, collected May 1991, 9 mm. Photo: P. Fiene. Lower right:  HOLOTYPE, CASIZ 120931, Choptop Reef, Enewetak Atoll, Marshall Islands, 8 m, collected August 1988, 12 mm,. Photo: S. Johnson.

The dorsum is cream color and some overlying colors that range from gray-white with yellow-topped tubercles to brown with orange-topped tubercles. There are twelve paddle-shaped tubercles around the gill and these can be translucent white with white tips or translucent yellow with darker yellow tips. The rhinophores in all color forms are translucent white as are the gill leaves. The dorsum is completely covered by small raised tubercles, some with rounded tops. There are approximately five flat-topped tubercles protecting the rhinophore pocket. This species ranges from 4–11 mm in length.

Aegires flores has a unique external morphology to other Aegires species. Most noticeable are the paddle-shaped gill appendages. The tubercles on the outside of the rhinophore pockets also resemble those around the gill, both in shape and in color. The dorsal tubercles are all much lower than the protective tubercles, a feature not shared by other Aegires species.

  • Fahey, S. J. & Gosliner, T. M. (2004) A Phylogenetic Analysis of the Aegiridae Fischer, 1883 (Mollusca, Nudibranchia, Phanerobranchia) with Descriptions of Eight New Species and a Reassessment of Phanerobranch Relationships. Proceedings of the CaliforniaAcademy of Sciences, 55, (34): 613–689, 82 figs., 4 tables (Appendix).

Note: This species was previously Aegires sp. 3 on Forum

Authorship details
Fahey, S. J. & Gosliner, T. M., 2005 (July 8) Aegires flores Fahey and Gosliner, 2004. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/aegiflor

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