Aphelodoris sp from Tasmania

April 21, 2000
From: Nerida Wilson

Dear Bill,

This Aphelodoris species was found at Bicheno [east coast] and Point Puer [southeast coast], Tasmania, Australia. Is it A. greeni or A. juliae, or something different?

Data: 18 February 2000
14m depth
~40mm

It was hiding under a rock, on a gravelly bottom, where the reef ended and a coarse sand bottom began.
Nerida Wilson

nwilson@zen.uq.edu.au

Wilson, N., 2000 (Apr 21) Aphelodoris sp from Tasmania. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2227

Dear Nerida,
Good question. Any idea of the colour of the foot in your animal? I'm afraid the differences between some of the proposed Aphelodoris species from southern Australia are not too clear to me. I have prepared pages on some of them but I am not sure how valid the distinctions and geographic ranges are. Have a look at A. rossquicki, A. greeni, and A. berghi. Considering the variability in Aphelodoris varia , I think we will need to see a lot more work on the variability of these southern species before we can have some confidence in the number of species present. See further details on the A. rossquicki page.

On the available evidence I think your animal is Aphelodoris greeni, which is a slight problem, because it is supposed to be restricted to northern Tasmania. Have a look at a very similar animal I found in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, which is almost certainly the same species.

If you hadn't escaped from Melbourne to sunny Queensland, these southern species of Aphelodoris would have been a nice research project for you to work on.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Apr 21). Comment on Aphelodoris sp from Tasmania by Nerida Wilson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2227

Factsheet

Aphelodoris greeni

Related messages

  1. Re: Aphelodoris greeni (?) - Bicheno, Tasmania
    From: John Silberberg, November 24, 2006
  2. Re: Aphelodoris greeni (?) - Bicheno, Tasmania
    From: Nerida Wilson, February 7, 2006
  3. Aphelodoris greeni (?) - Bicheno, Tasmania
    From: John Silberberg, February 3, 2006
  4. Aphelodoris in southeastern Australia
    From: Bill Rudman, April 21, 2000

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