Chromodoris tinctoria from Port Philip Bay, Victoria

November 25, 2009
From: Peter Eyre

Hi Bill,

I took this photo of a fairly common nudibranch found under the Blairgowrie marina in Port Phillip Bay. It is commonly found on the sand but also numerous on the pylons of the marina. I've been told it goes under the common name of Meshed Chromodoris but is yet officially unnamed. Can you shine some light on this?

Locality: Blairgowrie, 5m, Victoria, Australia, Port Phillip Bay, 21 November 2009, sheltered sandy bottom. Length: 65 mm. Photographer: Peter Eyre.

Thanks
Peter

pete_eyre@yahoo.com

Eyre, P.J., 2009 (Nov 25) Chromodoris tinctoria from Port Philip Bay, Victoria. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22838

Dear Peter,

This is Chromodoris tinctoria. It is found throughout the tropical Indo-West Pacific and is quite variable in colour pattern. Over the years a number of names have been proposed for various colour patterns but the patterns tend to merge into each other and certainly here is no geographical separation or obvious anatomical differences. This 'colour form' has been quite common in Western Australia and St Vincents Gulf in South Australia. I think its regular occurrence in Port Philip Bay is a fairly recent phenomenon - certainly Bob Burn didn't list it from there in 1989.

If you have photos of it feeding or aggregating on a particular sponge, or laying eggs, they woud be of great interest. In species or 'species groups' with variation like this, it is always possible that some biological observation - say different sized eggs or shape of egg ribbon or food sponge, will give us a clue to differences not immediately obvious from their anatomy.

This is one of an interesting tropical faunal element which appears to have colonised southern Australia from Western Australia rather than down the east coast, as records of C. tinctoria appear to be absent from southern New South Wales.

  • Burn, R. F. (1989). Opisthobranchs (Subclass Opisthobranchia): Marine Invertebrates of Southern Australia, Part 2. S. A. Shepherd, I. M. Thomas, S. A. Shepherd and I. M. Thomas. Adelaide, Government Printer (South Australia): 725-788.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2009 (Nov 25). Comment on Chromodoris tinctoria from Port Philip Bay, Victoria by Peter Eyre. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/22838

Factsheet

Chromodoris tinctoria

Related messages

  1. Colour pattern change in growth of Chromodoris tinctoria
    From: Philibert Bidgrain, December 14, 2006
  2. Chromodoris tinctoria from nthn New South Wales, Australia
    From: Roxanne Fea, September 8, 2006
  3. Re: Chromodoris tinctoria feeding
    From: Bruce Wilkie, June 8, 2006
  4. Chromodoris tinctoria feeding
    From: Bruce Wilkie, June 6, 2006
  5. Damaged Chromodoris tinctoria
    From: Chris Cunnold, September 20, 2005
  6. Deformed Chromodoris tinctoria
    From: Erwin Koehler, July 9, 2003
  7. Chromodoris tinctoria - reproductive organs
    From: Dong Bum Koh, June 12, 2003
  8. Chromodoris tinctoria - several variations
    From: Julie Marshall, May 26, 2003
  9. Chromodoris from Myanmar
    From: Mary Jane Adams, May 20, 2003
  10. Chromodoris tinctoria from Myanmar
    From: Mary Jane Adams, May 14, 2003
  11. Chromodoris tinctoria & food sponge from Egypt
    From: Jason Bell, January 4, 2003
  12. Chromodoris tinctoria from Sthn Queensland
    From: David Harasti, October 23, 2002
  13. Chromodoris tinctoria from Malaysia
    From: Richard Houghton, September 17, 2002
  14. Chromodoris tinctoria from Malaysia
    From: Kheong Sann Chan, June 18, 2002
  15. Chromodoris tinctoria from Sulawesi
    From: Mary Jane Adams, June 11, 2002
  16. Chromodoris tinctoria from Taiwan's N.E. Coast
    From: Todd Garthwaite, May 30, 2002
  17. Chromodoris tinctoria from Solomon Ids
    From: Bruce Potter, March 10, 2002
  18. Unknown Chromodoris from Japan
    From: Nishina Masayoshi, August 31, 2001
  19. Chromodoris tinctoria from Japan
    From: Jun Imamoto, August 30, 2001
  20. Chromodoris tinctoria from Japan
    From: Nishina Masayoshi, August 9, 2001
  21. Chromodoris tinctoria from Sagami Bay, Japan
    From: Nishina Masayoshi, August 2, 2001
  22. Is this Chromodoris petechialis?
    From: Bob Owens, May 31, 2001
  23. Chromodoris tinctoria - abnormal rhinophore
    From: Mary Jane Adams, January 19, 2001
  24. Chromodoris tinctoria from Oman
    From: Gordon T. Smith, November 1, 2000
  25. Chromodoris reticulata?
    From: Stuart Hutchison, August 24, 2000
  26. Pictures of Chromodoris reticulata
    From: Udo Jansen, August 22, 2000
  27. Chromodoris reticulata? from Thailand
    From: Narongpon Sittithaweepat, April 23, 2000
  28. Chromodoris tinctoria from South Africa
    From: Valda Fraser, March 10, 2000
  29. Mantle abnormality in Chromodoris
    From: Mary Jane Adams, January 30, 2000
  30. Chromodoris tinctoria from South Africa
    From: Valda Fraser, January 23, 2000
  31. Chromodoris tinctoria from Philippines
    From: Erwin Koehler, November 3, 1999
  32. Chromodoris tinctoria from Lord Howe Island
    From: Wayne Ellis, October 30, 1999

Show factsheet and all related messages