Hypselodoris acriba from Anguilla, BWI (Caribbean)

June 2, 2010
From: Tim Kary

After reviewing pictures in Paul Humann's book and from this forum I have not been able to find a representation of this specimen although it appears to be some form of Hypselodoris.

The pictures show the specimen on a piece of coral rubble. Because of the bright blue coloration it was easy to spot on the white background. Note the opening where you would typically see the branchial plume. It changed diameter from the first picture (small opening) to the second picture (larger opening). The time lag between the two photos was approximately 10-15 seconds. Does the branchial plume retract?

Locality: Anguillita, 30 feet, Anguilla, British West Indies, Caribbean, 16 May 2010, hard pan and sand bottom, coral ledge. Length: 1.5 inches (4 cm). Photographer: Tim Kary.

Assistance on a species identification would be helpful.

Regards,

Tim Kary

tkary@earthlink.net

Kary, T. W., 2010 (Jun 2) Hypselodoris acriba from Anguilla, BWI (Caribbean). [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/23670

Dear Tim,

It is indeed a species of Hypselodoris and my guess is that it is Hypselodoris acriba. The blue markings, dark brown patches and pinkish border all seem to be consistent with other animals we have identified as that species. It seems the width of the white submarginal band around the mantle border is variable as is the amount of folding present in the mantle skirt. I suspect the identity of some of these colour 'varieties' will only be sorted out by local observers who can see numerous living specimens. That is the only way to make judgements on whether degrees of folding of the mantle skirt and similar colour variations merge one one state to another as you would expect if they were intraspecific variations. I guess molecular sampling could do it, but only if all specimens sampled were carefully photographed so we knew just which colour 'forms' had been sampled.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2010 (Jun 2). Comment on Hypselodoris acriba from Anguilla, BWI (Caribbean) by Tim Kary. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/23670

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Hypselodoris acriba

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