Dendrodoris sp. from Northern Marianas Ids
July 5, 2007
From: Harry Blalock
Hi Bill,
I recently sent you an e-mail about Halgerda guahan and Halgerda malesso. I have a few others that I have taken pictures of that I haven't been able to id up to now. Thanks for your help on these.
Locality: Lau Lau Bay, 60', Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands, Pacific, under rocks and on rubble. Length: 1-2". Photographer: Harry Blalock.
Sincerely,
Harry Blalock
harryblalock@gmail.com
Blalock, H., 2007 (Jul 5) Dendrodoris sp. from Northern Marianas Ids. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/19938Dear Harry,
I am in the process of cleaning out the backlog of messages so to save time I have not prepared the images of the two other species you had on this message. They were both flatworms. This animal though is very interesting as I am sure it is a species of Dendrodoris and it looks as though it is a species like D. elongata which, as its name suggests, can greatly elongate as it stretches out in a leech-like form of locomotion. When I first saw your photo I thought it had a series of pale star-shaped patches on the mantle but on closer examination they appear to be branching papillae. Another species with leech-like locomotion is the sea hare Dolabrifera dolabrifera, which also has branching papillae. I guess its going too far to suggest these two species are mimicking each other but it is quite a coincidence.
At this stage I am not sure if your animal is just a form of D. elongata or a separate species. If it is a separate species I am not sure if it has a name. I certainly can't recall a species with branched papillae like this
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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