Anisodoris lentiginosa

October 16, 2000
From: Jeff Goddard

Hi Bill,

I just saw Clinton Bauder's message on Archidoris and Anisodoris. Sandra Millen will likely also respond to his message because the dorid pictured in his lower right photo is Anisodoris lentiginosa described by Sandra in 1982. It looks very similar to the two specimens I have found at Cape Arago, Oregon, which also had just a few small chocolate brown patches on the dorsum. Cape Arago is currently the southern known range limit of this species. The first time I found this species, I too thought I had found a cross between an Archidoris and Anisodoris.

The specimen pictured measured 90 mm long, and was found in the low rocky intertidal at Cape Arago, Oregon, May 1980.

The identification of the slug in my photo was made by Sandra Millen in a letter to me (18 Jan 1983) after I sent her some photos and a description of that specimen. It had a radula formula of 26(62.0.62) and even though the pigmented spots are much smaller than those pictured in Sandra's description (and Behrens), the dark pigment was BOTH between and in the dorsal papillae.

It is possible, but less likely, that Clinton's lower right photo is of an unusually light colored Geitodoris heathi, which often have a concentration of brown pigment just in front of the gills. However, I don't recall seeing specimens of G. heathi without the characteristic sprinkling of minute black flecks on the dorsum.

Best wishes,
Jeff

Goddard@lifesci.ucsb.edu

Goddard, J., 2000 (Oct 16) Anisodoris lentiginosa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3178

Thanks Jeff,
In Dave Behren's book and in Sandra Millen's description, Anisodoris lentiginosa has large patches of various shades of brown, very similar to the pattern found in the Indo-West Pacific species Discodoris lilacina. Interestingly D.lilacina ranges in colour from animals with large brown patches to others that are almost a uniform pale colour, as in your photo of A. lentiginosa. When I get a chance I will post some photos of colour variability in D. lilacina. If A. lentiginosa is so variable in colour then it is a remarkable parallel to D. lilacina.

But first, I would be glad of some further information on colour variability in Anisodoris lentiginosa.

Bill Rudman.

Rudman, W.B., 2000 (Oct 16). Comment on Anisodoris lentiginosa by Jeff Goddard. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/3178

Factsheet

Diaulula lentiginosa

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