Correct genus for Chromodoris kempfi
March 19, 2002
From: Elianny Dominguez Tejo
Dear Bill,
You said in an earlier message that Chromodoris kempfi is perhaps a species of Mexichromis or Durvilledoris, because of the radulae. Has someone work on that subject and established the differences? (do you have the complete reference?). Or is C. kempfi still Chromodoris?
Kind regards,
Elianny.
eliannydominguez@hotmail.com
Dominguez Tejo, E., 2002 (Mar 19) Correct genus for Chromodoris kempfi. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6448Dear Elianny,
In Eveline Marcus's original description she describes the radula as 'very small' and as having 3-8 denticles, and the jaw rodlets having '2-5 spines'. This is quite unlike the buccal armature of a species of Chromodoris and very similar to that of a species of Mexichromis, which as its name suggests, is based on a species from the Pacific coast of Mexico, M. antonii.
I don't know of any review of the anatomy of Chromodoris kempfi, but I suspect when that occurs, it will turn out to be something other than a species of Chromodoris. My guess would be Mexichromis. If you do intend to look yourself, then be very careful you do not lose the radula. If it is a species of Mexichromis, then the radula will be so small that the whole buccal bulb can be hidden in the oral tube and appear to be absent. In a review of the chromodorid genera (Rudman, 1984) I did suggest that C. kempfi was most probably a species of Mexichromis, but as now, that was based on Marcus's description.
• Marcus, E., 1970. Opisthobranchs from northern Brazil. Bulletin of Marine Science, 24: 922-951.
• Rudman, W.B. (1984) The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: a review of the genera. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 81: 115-273.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
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