Another Chromodoris willani?

August 7, 2007
From: Ken Tucker

Rhinopores and gills have the right attributes for Chromodoris willani, but markings are rather different than others I've seen, and I don't know whether that has relevance or not.

Locality: North Sulawesi, Bunaken, 15 metres, Indonesia, Celebes Sea, 9 Nov 2006. Length: 1+ cm. Photographer: Ken Tucker.

Ken Tucker

ken@kilili.com

Tucker, K.C., 2007 (Aug 7) Another Chromodoris willani?. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20403

Dear Ken,
Yes this is C. willani. Its important to see the whole pattern [what German philosophers would call the gestalt] when identifying nudibranchs. Its not the individual parts of a pattern - that is three lines - we need to see, but the whole pattern. For evolution to work we must have variability, so we should expect a broken line or an extra spot now and then. There are usually a few key characters - like white spots on the gills and rhinophores in C. willani - which are important, but most other aspects can be expected to show some variation. How much variation? ... who knows? ... that is why we still have to keep looking and only half believe what we read.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2007 (Aug 7). Comment on Another Chromodoris willani? by Ken Tucker. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/20403

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