Aegires villosus from the Philippines

September 19, 2007
From: James A. Loyola

Hi.
Please help me identify this nudibranch I saw last weekend. It was very small and moving at a fast pace. Perhaps Cuthona or Flabellina?

Locality: Ernie's Point, Puerto Galera, Mindoro, 60 feet, Philippines, Pacific Ocean, 15 September 2007, coral rubble. Length: 0.5 inches. Photographer: James A. Loyola.

Thank you
James A. Loyola

jaloyola88@yahoo.com

Loyola, J.A., 2007 (Sep 19) Aegires villosus from the Philippines. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20747

Dear james,

Certainly in colour it looks like some species of Cuthona or Flabellina, and the long tubercles on the back do have similarities to aeolid cerata but this is a dorid nudibranch called Aegires villosus.

One character of most dorids is a circle of feathery gills in the middle of the back. In Aegires they are difficult to see - perhaps camouflaged - but if you look at your upper photo you will see a mound in the middle of the back with some long purple-tipped yellow papillae at the tip. In between these papillae are two or three whitish, almost transparent, feather-like gills

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Sep 19). Comment on Aegires villosus from the Philippines by James A. Loyola. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20747

Factsheet

Aegires villosus

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