Diaphorodoris from the Red Sea

Dear Binyamin,

Although it looks quite like Diversidoris aurantionodulosa, the body looks more rigid than in most chromodorids. More importantly, the structure of the rhinophores is quite different. In the close-up you can see the lamellae slope down to form a V on the posterior side and are cup shaped, which is quite different from the closely layered lamellae found in most chromodorids. I am pretty sure this is the same as the animal in two earlier messages [#17545;  #21713 ] which I am sure are a species of Diaphorodoris. I have tentatively placed them with D. mitsuii  but the reddish band on the rhinophores is not present in that species.  I guess we will have to wait until we get more records from the Indian Ocean. The western Pacific animals show quite a bit of colour variability so perhaps there is a similar amount of  variability - if slightly different colours - in the Indian Ocean population.

One other possible clue is that species of Diaphorodoris feed on bryozoans and I suspect the 'stick' your animal is on is a bryozoan colony.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman