Chelidonura flavolobata from Red Sea [3]

May 31, 2003
From: Nils Anthes

Dear Bill,
Thanks for your response about the identity of our spotted Chelidonura sp: we don't believe it is C. inornata, although like you, we thought it might be. The main reasons are:
• we have seen intermediates between all dark 'typical' C. flavolobata and the spotted ones. I include a picture of one that has some white spots in the eye region, and also few at the rear end of the head shield (not visible on the picture).
• C. flavolobata and the spotted forms also mated with each other (which would of course not be very surprising also between C. inornata and C. flavolobata - especially under lab conditions, as their mating behaviour appears to be very similar)
- At least the C. inornata that we have seen on Heron and Lizard Island all
had much more elongated, slender, pointed "tails", while the posterior lobes
are very broad and round-tipped in C. flavolobata and the spotted forms. This
also applies to all pictures of C. inornata on the Forum.

But anyway - the two species have a lot in common...
Best wishes!
Nils

anthes@uni-muenster.de

Anthes, N., 2003 (May 31) Chelidonura flavolobata from Red Sea [3]. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10123

Thanks Nils,
It's certainly an interesting situation. If they are mating together it would suggest they are the same species, but of course it wouldn't rule out the possibility that this population is an Indian Ocean variant of C. inornata or at least a closely related - perhaps a sibling species. I have put my thoughts into a separate message.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (May 31). Comment on Chelidonura flavolobata from Red Sea [3] by Nils Anthes. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/10123

Factsheet

Chelidonura flavolobata

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