Platydoris ellioti from Thailand

July 3, 2008
From: Lawrence Neal

Dear Bill,

Perhaps you could help with ID for this slug. It looks to me like Platydoris pulchra but the photo was taken in the Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea which is a rather major range extension from the previous sightings. I don't know if the shot of the animal's foot will help with ID or not.

Locality: Koh Sark, Pattaya, 6 metres, Thailand, Gulf of Thailand, South China Sea, 7 June 2008, Sheltered bay, mixed sand and sediment. Length: 60 mm. Photographer: Lawrence Neal.

All the best,
Lawrence

lorenzo_n@yahoo.com

Neal, L., 2008 (Jul 3) Platydoris ellioti from Thailand. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21643

Dear Lawrence,
I am glad you included a photo of the underside. It certainly looks like P. pulchra from the photos of its upper surface, but the large brown spots on the underside of the mantle clearly identify it as Platydoris ellioti. In some dorids, the colour of the underside can be very valuable in species identification, but unfortunately it is not often photographed. I have included two close-up photos. One shows the gills. The other shows the head and oral tentacles which are usually not seen in photos of dorids with a wide mantle skirt.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2008 (Jul 3). Comment on Platydoris ellioti from Thailand by Lawrence Neal. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/21643

Factsheet

Platydoris ellioti

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