Thuridilla mazda
Ortea & Espinosa, 2000
Order: SACOGLOSSA
Superfamily: ELYSIOIDEA
Family: Elysiidae
DISTRIBUTION
Known only from the Caribbean
PHOTO
7mm specimen was collected June 23, 1995 from algae-covered shoreline rocks in 0.3m near Cooperstown, Abaco, Bahamas. Photo: Colon Redfern.
Ortea & Espinosa (2000) compared this species to Thuridilla picta (Verrill, 1901), finding differences in the radula, and also pointing out that the rhinophores of T. mazda are shorter, and with a wider base than the more cylindrical rhinophores of T. picta. The two species share similar colors, but in different combinations. The rhinophore colour of T. mazda, black on the anterior side and white on the rear, is also different. Animals from Cuba and the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica were described as having a black background color, but those from Abaco are predominantly dark brown. This species was figured in Bahamian Seashells (pl. 116, figs. 676A & B) as Thuridilla picta.
Reference:
• Ortea, J. & Espinosa, J. 2000. Nueva especie del genero Thuridilla Bergh, 1872 (Mollusca: Sacoglossa) de Cuba y Costa Rica. Avicennia, 12/13: 87-90.
Colin Redfern
Authorship detailsRedfern, C., 2002 (July 23) Thuridilla mazda Ortea & Espinosa, 2000. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/thurmazd
