Re: Hyps. orsinii from French Mediterranean

June 26, 2002
From: Marina Poddubetskaia

Hi Alma,
Thank you for your confirmation of this ID. In France several guides of Mediterranean fauna call Hypselodoris orsinii H. tricolor or H. coelestis (which isn't a valid name). So, divers are embarrassed with this identification. If you see the message of Christian Desprez (May 27, 1999), I'm sure he speaks in fact about H. orsinii. I think, it's really the most common nudibranch in French Mediterranean, especially in May - June. Last year, I saw them at all sites I dived, near Toulon and in Corsica near Sagone. In September they completely disappeared. And no, I saw large numbers of them near Marseille. The real H. tricolor is rarer here.
Best wishes,
Marina.

nembro@nembro.info

Poddubetskaia, M. , 2002 (Jun 26) Re: Hyps. orsinii from French Mediterranean. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7354

Thanks Marina,
No one should get embarrassed about getting an identification wrong and especially when the blue chromodorids of the Mediterranean are concerned. The scientific literature is full of mistakes made by 'the experts'. When you have a group of animals which have evolved together to look like each other, we should be amazed by how well they have succeeded rather than be ashamed by how easily they can trick us.

What would be very useful would be to have photos of these species on their food sponges and laying eggs. Most have very specialised diets, eating only one or two related sponges, and most have very distinctive egg ribbons. While this information is available in the scientific literature - (although sometimes the information is confused because of misidentifications of the sponges and the nudibranchs)- photos would make it much more accessible to the general public.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Jun 26). Comment on Re: Hyps. orsinii from French Mediterranean by Marina Poddubetskaia . [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7354

Factsheet

Hypselodoris orsinii

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