Pleurobranchus atlanticus
Abbott, 1949

Order: NOTASPIDEA
Superfamily: PLEUROBRANCHOIDEA
Family: Pleurobranchidae

DISTRIBUTION

Caribbean, tropical west Atlantic.

PHOTO

Santa Marta, Caribbean coast of Colombia. 3-5 cm long. Photos: Phanor Montoya.

This appears very similar in colour to the Indo-West Pacific species Pleurobranchus albiguttatus and I previously labelled it as Pleurobranchus cf. albiguttatus on the Forum. I have now identified it as Pleurobranchus atlanticus, a species previously considered a synonym of Pleurobranchus areolatus. See Anne Dupont's message below where I discuss its identity in more detail.

Pleurobranchus evelinae Thompson, 1977 is also a synonym [see message.]

References:
• Abbott, R.T. (1949): A new Florida species of the Tectibranch genus Pleurobranchus. The Nautilus, 62(3): 73-78.
• Mörch, O.A.L. (1863) Contributions à la Faune malacologique des Antilles danoises. Journal de Conchyliologie, 11: 21-43.
• Thompson, T.E. (1977) Jamaican opisthobranch molluscs I. Journal of Molluscan Studies, 43(2): 93-139, pls.1-3.
• White, K.M. (1952) On a collection of molluscs from Dry Tortugas, Florida. Proceedings of the Malacological Society of London, 29: 106-120, Pl.6.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2000 (October 21) Pleurobranchus atlanticus Abbott, 1949. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/pleuatla

Related messages

  1. Pleurobranchus atlanticus from Bonaire
    From: Marianne Ligthart, November 16, 2009
  2. Pleurobranchus atlanticus from Florida
    From: Jay Wilmar, September 20, 2007
  3. Pleurobranchus atlanticus and P. crossei
    From: Bill Rudman, December 13, 2006
  4. Pleurobranchus atlanticus from the Bahamas
    From: Les Wilk, December 17, 2005
  5. Pleurobranchus atlanticus from Jamaica
    From: Ross W. Gundersen, October 22, 2003
  6. Pleurobranchus evelinae = P. atlanticus
    From: Bill Rudman, September 10, 2003
  7. Pleurobranchus atlanticus from Netherlands Antilles
    From: Linda Ianniello, September 18, 2002
  8. Pleurobranchus atlanticus from the West Indies
    From: Anne DuPont, September 23, 2001
  9. Another notaspid from Colombia
    From: Phanor Montoya, October 22, 2000

Show factsheet and all related messages