A record of Heterodoris from New South Wales
July 2, 2007
From: Bill Rudman
I was walking past a wet bench at the museum and was asked to identify this specimen trawled off Sydney, New South Wales in eastern Australia. It is a specimen of the very interesting arminid genus Heterodoris, so since the chance of getting a live photo of this deep water animal is most unlikely I asked Alison Miller for a couple of photos for the Forum.
Locality: Off Sydney, NSW, FROM: 33 Deg 40.000 Min S, 151 Deg 56.000 Min E TO: 33 Deg 37.000 Min S, 151 Deg 58.000 Min E ± 10 km, Capture Depth From 497 m To 503 m, Collector K.J. Graham, 2 OCT 1996, Pres. NSW Fisheries, FRV "Kapala". 0612hrs. Trawled. Upper Slope Survey [Stn number K96-19-01]. AM C.458631, 1 spm. [length approx 30 mm].
It is most probably Heterodoris antipodes Willan, 1981, which was described from deep water off the west coast of the South Island of New Zealand. This the third specimen that has been found by NSW Fisheries scientists off this part of the New South Wales coast since 1986.
PHOTOS: Dorsal, ventral and right lateral views of preserved animal -Alison Miller, Australian Museum.
Best wishes
Bill Rudman
View of right side showing genital opening [on right] and anus.
