Hoplodoris grandiflora
(Pease, 1860)

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Dorididae

DISTRIBUTION

Indo-West Pacific [Hawaii, Philippines, Palau , Kerama Island, Mauritius , Tanzania, Madagascar.

PHOTO

A. Palau (CASIZ 109746) 40 mm. C. Madagascar (CASIZ 073243) 23 mm. Photos: T.M. Gosliner. [From Fahey & Gosliner, 2003: Fig 1]

Fahey & Gosliner (2003) consider Doris grandiflora Pease, 1860, Doris grandifloriger Abraham, 1877, Hoplodoris desmoparypha Bergh, 1880 and Carminodoris mauritiana Bergh, 1891 to be synonyms of Hoplodoris grandiflora (Pease, 1860)

The body is oval, flat and the notum is covered with large, rounded tubercles that decrease in size towards the mantle edge. The rhinophores are closely-set and stout, with a knob-shaped lamellar region (10–15 lamellae) that terminates in a point. The low rhinophore sheaths have an irregular edge and small tubercles on the sides. The six main gill leaves are tripinnate, feathery and the tubercle-covered sheath has a scalloped edge.

The ground color of the notum is light to medium mottled brown or tan. Lateral to either side
of the dorsal median on some specimens are evenly spaced clumps of darker tubercles. Some specimens have dark spots near the mantle edge or have areas of white tubercles that appear as perpendicular rays along the mantle edge. The clumps of dark tubercles merge on some specimens into a dark ring. On the knobby tops of some tubercles, the brown coloration appears worn off and whitish coloration is visible. The gill leaves are lighter tan than the body color, with a frosted appearance on the tips. The rhinophores are also lighter tan than the body and the tips are white. On the ventral side of some preserved specimens, dark spots are sprinkled randomly. The digitate oral tentacles have also retained some of the dark speckles, and the oral tube has dark coloration. The foot is notched at the anterior end. Grows to at least 55mm long.

See generic review of Hoplodoris

Reference:
• Fahey, S. J. & Gosliner, T. M. (2003) Mistaken identities: On the Discodorididae genera Hoplodoris Bergh, 1880 and Carminodoris Bergh, 1889 (Opisthobranchia, Nudibranchia). Proceedings of the California Academy of Sciences, 54(10): 169-208.

Authorship details
Fahey, S.J., 2003 (October 21) Hoplodoris grandiflora (Pease, 1860). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/hoplgran

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