Chromodoris kuiteri
Rudman, 1982

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Family: Chromodorididae

DISTRIBUTION

Known only from northern New South Wales, Queensland and possibly northwestern Western Australia.

PHOTO

UPPER: Heron Island, Great Barrier Reef, Queensland, December 1980. PHOTO: Geoff Avern.
LOWER: Mooloolaba, Sunshine Coast, southern Queensland. PHOTO: Steve Grail.

The predominant colour on the mantle is black with a broad orange border. The boundary between the orange border and the black is diffuse. There are four thin white longitudinal lines in the black region. The outer on each side runs parallel to the border joining anteriorly in front of the rhinophores and posteriorly behind the gills. The inner pair of lines run forward between the rhinophores, in some specimens joining to form an anterior loop. Posteriorly the lines run back, one on each side of the gill pocket to meet in the posterior midline. A short median line runs back from this junction.

The rhinophore and gill pockets are bordered with orange and the gills and rhinophores are uniformly orange, usually of a more intense colour than the border. The sides of the body and the foot are black with three white lines. Sometimes a line may be absent or secondary lines present. The foot is bordered with a broad orange band.

The body is elongately ovate. The gills are simple with a tendency towards secondary branching in larger specimens. The gills are arranged in a horseshoe, open posteriorly, and at the posterior ends they recurve to form an inner spiral on each side of the anal papilla. The number of gills varies with the size of the animal, the maximum so far counted is 16.

Reference:
• Rudman, W.B. (1982) The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: Chromodoris quadricolor, C. lineolata and Hypselodoris nigrolineata colour groups. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 76: 183-241.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2003 (November 12) Chromodoris kuiteri Rudman, 1982. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/chrkuit

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