Fryeria or Phyllidia from Hachijo Ids Japan

March 28, 2002
From: Shouichi Kato

Dear Bill,
I found it in about 30 meters diving area of Hachijo Iland in Japan. About 5cm in size
Firstly, I thought it might be Phyllidia varicosa because it was very similar to one in the picture attached to Lindsay Warren's letter dated on April 8 2001.
But I confirmed the position of their anus was below the mantle skirt in the posterior midline, suggested this species a kind of Fryeria. Is he Fryeria menindie or Fryeria sp.? I also wonder if Fryeria menindie has sometimes a black longitudial foot stripe on their foot sole as shown in my picture.
Looking forward your comment.

Thanks and best regards,
S. Kato

regulus@tokyo7.ne.jp

Kato, S., 2002 (Mar 28) Fryeria or Phyllidia from Hachijo Ids Japan. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6414

Dear Souicho,
This certainly helps to confuse the situation about Fryeria and Phyllidia and appropriately I am posting it with Terry Gosliner's and Angel Valdes's messages on the subject.

As you say it looks like Lindsay Warren's animal which looks like Phyllidia coelestis but like your animal has a median black stripe on the sole of the foot. As far as we know only Phyllidia varicosa, Phyllidia elegans , Phyllidia carlsonhoffi and Phyllidia tula have a black line on the sole.

More difficult to explain is the ventral anus which is so well illustrated in your photo. As far as I know no species of Fryeria is reported to have a black line on the foot. Lindsay Warren does not mention the position of the anus in her animal, but it could easily have been ventral. Checking through other messages I have found a couple of photos from Yasman [message 1; message 21] which could easily be the same animal. I have put them all together on a page entitled Fryeria or Phyllidia?.

Basically I don't know whether they are aberrant species of Phyllidia in which the anus is ventral or a new species of Fryeria with a black line on the sole. I don't even think it would help us interpret the situation if we considered that species of Fryeria were actually species of .

Thanks for this intresting find. Sorry I can't provide an easy answer,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Mar 28). Comment on Fryeria or Phyllidia from Hachijo Ids Japan by Shouichi Kato. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6414

Factsheet

Fryeria or Phyllidia?

Related messages

  1. Phyllidia coelestis? from Sulawesi
    From: Lindsay Warren, April 8, 2001
  2. Fryeria (?) with black line on sole
    From: Yasman, December 30, 2000
  3. Phyllidia coelestis (?) with black line on sole
    From: Yasman, December 28, 2000

Show factsheet and all related messages