Doriopsilla areolata from Senegal

Dear Marina and Patrice,
Malcolm Edmunds (1968) described a new species, Doriopsilla albolineata, from Ghana which he differentiated from D. areolata by some constant colour differences. The background colour was 'grey, sometimes yellowish, but never yellow', and the white lines on the mantle were almost all tranverse rather than forming a network. In a recent review of the Atlantic species of Doriopsilla, Valdes & Ortea (1997) describe further material from Angola and note that the background colour can range from pearl grey to yellow. They consider the west African form to be a subspecies D. areolata albolineata. Your photos from Senegal, have the typical network of white lines, so they fit the Valdes & Ortea's typical subspecies D. areolata areolata. If these subspecies are real, I guess Senegal must be on the southern boundary between the two subspecies.

• Valdes, A. & Ortea, J. (1997) Review of the genus Doriopsilla Bergh, 1880 (Gastropoda: Nudibranchia) in the Atlantic Ocean. The Veliger, 40(3): 240-254.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman