Siphopteron sp. 3? from Great Barrier Reef

Dear Nils,
I am interested in your comment about many animals. If you have photos of other colour variants they would be very welcome. If there are animals with red lines on the parapodia like the ones from Japan that would be quite a good link. For that matter any colour variants would be useful. The other thing it would be nice to know is what they eat! I wouldn't be surprised if they eat small flatworms like your little Chelidonura species so if you have the opportunity a little test could solve a long-standing riddle

I am pretty sure your animal is the recently described Siphopteron leah Klussmann-Kolb & Klussmann, 2003 but I can't find a copy of the description at the moment so am a little hesitant to be definite until I read it again. It was collected in Nth Queensland, and from memory, has a bright yellow body with red lines along the siphonal crest, the parapodia, across the visceral hump and along the flagellum.

Although I am in no position to speak for Marshall & Willan, my first thought would be that their Gastropteron sp. 1 is the same species and the siphonal ridge was missed. It seems the 2.5mm long specimen was collected by a third party during survey work and painted by someone who may not have noticed or realised the significance of a ridge in the tiny siphon. I suspect at that size, the ridge would have been very difficult, if not impossible, for Marshall & Willan to see in the preserved animal.

• Klussmann-Kolb, A. & Klussmann, A. (2003) A new species of Gastropteridae (Gastropoda, Opisthobranchia, Cephalaspidea) from tropical Northeast Australia. Zootaxa, 156: 1-12

Best wishes
Bill Rudman