'Pyjama slugs' from the Red Sea

May 21, 2003
From: Ilan Ben Tov

Dear Bill,
In the northern Red Sea, at Eilat, on one dive I took pictures of the following 3 slightly different slugs. We call all these 'Pyjama slugs', but I was able to isolate 3 different species.

Chromodoris elisabethina
Chromodoris kuiteri
Chromodoris quadricolor (usually found on red sponges)

According to my knowledge the first two are Australian species. Could they be found in the northern Red Sea? Are they indeed different or they all the same?

Photos taken at Eilat, Gulf of Aquaba, Red Sea, March 15th, at depth of 27m.

Upper Right: Is it Chromodoris quadricolor? This slug is very common in Eilat in the Red Sea. It is found from depths of 5m to 30m and probably deeper usually on top of red sponges that it feeds upon.
Lower Left: Is this Chromodoris kuiteri?
Lower Right: Is this Chromodoris elisabethina?

Ilan

ilanbt@gilat.com

Tov, I.B., 2003 (May 21) 'Pyjama slugs' from the Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9457

Thanks Ilan,
I agree you probably have 3 species here. The upper right one is C. quadricolor and its red sponge seems to be a good 'field character' to use in its identification.

The lower left animal is most probably Chromodoris africana. It looks a bit different from the animals I am familiar with from East Africa which have quite a wide mantle skirt. It ceraubly has similarities to C. kuiteri but I would be very surprised if that northeastern Australian species also occurred in the Red Sea. If you animal is C. africana then I have to look again at Erwin Koehler's photo which I previously said must be C. quadricolor. Perhaps it is C. africana in whih the white has a bluish tinge. I really can't be sure at this stage.

The lower right animal is most probably the Indian Ocean 'counterpart' of C. elisabethina, C. hamiltoni.

If you are interested in doing a bit of research with these animals it would be great to know just what sponges each of these 'species' eats and what their egg ribbons look like. It might take you a year or so to be lucky enough to atually catch them feeding or laying eggs but it would be a very useful piece of information and would certainly help clarify the differences between these 'Pyjama Slugs'.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2003 (May 21). Comment on 'Pyjama slugs' from the Red Sea by Ilan Ben Tov. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/9457

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