Re: Hypselodoris from Bonaire

May 28, 2003
From: Brian Mayes

Note added 25 March 2008: This species, which has been called Hypselodoris sp. 5 on the Forum, has now been named Hypselodoris olgae - see message #22347.

Dear Bill,
With reference to your reply your reply to Ron Velarde dated 27th May 2003 on the Forum. I think you have your comments round the wrong way. Mine is the one with the light purple rhinophores and dark purple tip.

With regard to Ron's comments on the colour variations being related to size. The one in my photo is about 0.75 inch or 19mm long. The photo by Craig Lavin shows the size to be less than the width of a finger. The photo by Linda Ianniello from Anne Dupont states it to be about 1 inch. Both these have white rhinophores with dark tips. Mine is in the middle of this size range but has purple/blue rhinopores with tiny darker tips.

Colour comparions are difficult because of the different cameras, depths and lighting used by the photographers. For future reference my photo was taken using a digital camera (Nikon Coolpix 990) and video light (Pro Video-Lite). I assume that your earliest photos were taken with conventional cameras and strobes.

Kind Regards
Brian Mayes

brian@mayescai.freeserve.co.uk

Mayes, B., 2003 (May 28) Re: Hypselodoris from Bonaire. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10068

Dear Brian,
Concerning the rhinophore colour of your animal. Just a slight brainstorm on my part. I have altered my comment. I don't usually change already posted messages but it will only cause unnecessary confusion to leave it as is.

Thanks also for the length information. Concerning colour comparisons. Certainly there can be differences between cameras - even digital cameras can give rather different results just as different film types do. My feeling is that trying to define an exact colour [by wavelength etc] is not of much value because in nature colours vary between individuals. Obviously we need to know the general colours - such as red spots or orange-yellow border - but what is vitally important is the 'pattern'. Whether the red spots on the mantle always occur with a yellow border and with blue spots on the rhinophores etc. This information can only be gathered by studying many specimens so we get to know what variations can occur in the actual colours and what variations can occur in the pattern. For example can yellow spots sometimes be orange and can a line of red spots sometimes be a red line etc? And as Ron suggested do juveniles and adult colours differ?

These aren't things immediately obvious from a single specimen, so the more records and photos we can accumulate the easier it will be to work out what is going on.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (May 28). Comment on Re: Hypselodoris from Bonaire by Brian Mayes. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10068

Factsheet

Hypselodoris olgae

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