Re: Platydoris inframaculata from New Caledonia

April 17, 2008
From: Gary Cobb


Concerning message #20084:

Hi Bill and everyone!
I noticed the Forum does not have very many entries for Platydoris inframaculata. Here is an animal we found under a rock of Mooloolaba at a dive site called Castle Rock.
The distinctive ring and spots are very prominent.

Locality: Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, 20m, Queensland, Australia, Pacific Ocean, 21 August 2004, Subtidal. Length: 85mm. Photographer: Gary Cobb.

Cheers,
Gary Cobb

gary@nudibranch.com.au

Cobb, G.C., 2008 (Apr 17) Re: Platydoris inframaculata from New Caledonia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21426

Dear Gary,

Thanks for this record. When an animal has the distinctive red and orange markings on the underside of the mantle it is easily distinguishable, but as I note on the Fact Sheet for the species, some animals have little or no sign of these markings. And as the animal was described from a decolourised specimen I am afraid there are always going to be some doubts about which species Abraham was really naming. Despite all that, it is certainly one of the most brilliantly coloured 'undersides' in the animal kingdom. It is possibly an example of Deimatic display [see Opisthobranch Defence] where an otherwise camouflaged animal can produce a bright colour pattern to startle a predator, but we have no evidence for that.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Apr 17). Comment on Re: Platydoris inframaculata from New Caledonia by Gary Cobb. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21426

Factsheet

Platydoris inframaculata

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