Aphelodoris greeni
Burn, 1966
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Dorididae
DISTRIBUTION
Northern Tasmania, Australia [Burn, 1989]. Possible records here from eastern & southeastern Tasmania.
PHOTO
UPPER RIGHT: Bicheno, eastern Tasmania. 15m, 28mm long alive, May 1985.
LOWER LEFT: Bicheno, eastern Tasmania. 15m, 35mm long alive, May 1985.
LOWER RIGHT: Rocky Cape, NW Tasmania, 3m, 72mm long alive. median dark brown patches present but obscured by heavy brown lines. August 1985.
PHOTOS: Bill Rudman.
The body is creamy white with the foot bordered in yellow or orange. The are two large irregular brownish (maroon) patches in the midline and smaller brown or orange patches around the mantle edge. In some animals the bordering patches extend inwards some distance. Brown and/or orange streaks and spots are scattered elsewhere on the mantle, and sometimes a reticulate pattern can be seen outlining low rounded soft pustules on the mantle surface. Photographs here suggest its mantle ranges in colour from pale cream with some brown markings to forms in which the dark brown is the dominant colour. All the photographed animals had a pale translucent cream foot with a yellow border, and yellow tipped oral tenatcles.
Burn (1989) gives this species a distribution restricted to northern Tasmania. If my identifications are correct, the photos I have here from Bicheno in eastern Tasmania, and Nerida Wilson's records from eastern and southeastern Tasmania suggest a wider distribution at least in Tasmania. It is also very similar to an animal from Port Philip Bay, Victoria which I am temporarily labelling as Aphelodoris sp. 2.
This species distinctive features appear to be the two large brown median patches and the orange or brown patches around the mantle edge. The edge of the pale foot is lined in yellow or orange. Aphelodoris juliae Burn, 1966 was distinguished by Burn from A. greeni on colour differences and slight differences in radular morphology and the proportions of some reproductive organs. The main colour difference was the absence of prominent brown patches on the central part of the mantle. The two species were considered to have non-overlapping distributions, A. greeni from northern Tasmania, and A. juliae from south eastern Tasmania. From the photos it would seem A. greeni is found at least along the north and eastern coasts of Tasmania, and probably Victoria. A. juliae and A.greeni ar probably forms of the same species.
See Aphelodoris rossquicki for a further discussion on these southern Australian species of Aphelodoris.
References:
•Burn, R. (1966) Notes on opisthobranchs mainly from South Australia. Records of the South Australian Museum, 15: 329-352.
•Burn, R. (1989) Chapter 12. Opisthobranchs: 725-788. In: Marine Invertebrates of South Australia, Part 2. [Eds: S.A.Shepherd., I.M. Thomas]. South Australian Govt. Printing Office: Adelaide.
Rudman, W.B., 2000 (April 20) Aphelodoris greeni Burn, 1966. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/aphegree
Related messages
Re: Aphelodoris greeni (?) - Bicheno, Tasmania
November 24, 2006
From: John Silberberg
Concerning message #15749:
Another specimen that also appears to be Aphelodoris greeni.
Locality: South side of 'The Rock', Waubs Bay, Bicheno, 12 metres, 13 deg C. Tasmania, Australia, Tasman Sea, 17 November 2006, Rocky Reef. Length: 30 mm. Photographer: John Silberberg.
John Silberberg.
john.silberberg@bipgond.com
Silberberg, Capt J M, 2006 (Nov 24) Re: Aphelodoris greeni (?) - Bicheno, Tasmania. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/18500Dear John,
It's certainly an Aphelodoris, and its colour certainly falls within the range of A. greeni.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Re: Aphelodoris greeni (?) - Bicheno, Tasmania
February 7, 2006
From: Nerida Wilson
Concerning message #15725:
Hi Bill and others,
I can confirm that the photo sent in by John Silberg matches the original description of A. greeni. I redescribed this species in 2003 using material from this same location.
Locality: Bicheno, Tasmania, 14 m, 13 February 2000. length alive 45 mm. Photo: N. Wilson.
The photo I posted earlier on the Forum is material from Point Puer, SE Tasmania.
-
Wilson, N. G. (2003). Australian Aphelodoris (Mollusca: Nudibranchia): two new species, sperm ultrastructure and a redescription of Aphelodoris greeni Burn. In: F. E. Wells and D. I. Walker (eds), The Marine Flora and Fauna of Dampier, Western Australia. Western Australian Museum, Perth. Volume 2: 563-587
The pdf is available on http://www.auburn.edu/academic/science_math/biology/faculty/halanych/Wilson.htm
Cheers
Nerida
wilsong@auburn.edu
Wilson, N.G., 2006 (Feb 7) Re: Aphelodoris greeni (?) - Bicheno, Tasmania. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15749Thanks Nerida,
Bill Rudman
Aphelodoris greeni (?) - Bicheno, Tasmania
February 3, 2006
From: John Silberberg
Dear Bill,
This appears to be Aphelodoris greeni but I am not certain though and confirmation would be great.
Locality: Waubs Bay [Eastern side of "The Rock"], Bicheno, Tasmania, Australia. Depth: 10 metres, Length: 55 mm (estimated). 31 January 2006. Rocky Reef. Photographer: John Silberberg
John Silberberg
john.silberberg@bigpond.com
Silberberg, J M, 2006 (Feb 3) Aphelodoris greeni (?) - Bicheno, Tasmania. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/15725Dear John,
It certainly appears to be that species but I think we need to know more about all the southern Australian species of Aphelodoris before we can be sure just how many species there are.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Aphelodoris sp from Tasmania
April 21, 2000
From: Nerida Wilson
Dear Bill,
This Aphelodoris species was found at Bicheno [east coast] and Point Puer [southeast coast], Tasmania, Australia. Is it A. greeni or A. juliae, or something different?
Data: 18 February 2000
14m depth
~40mm
It was hiding under a rock, on a gravelly bottom, where the reef ended and a coarse sand bottom began.
Nerida Wilson
nwilson@zen.uq.edu.au
Wilson, N., 2000 (Apr 21) Aphelodoris sp from Tasmania. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2227Dear Nerida,
Good question. Any idea of the colour of the foot in your animal? I'm afraid the differences between some of the proposed Aphelodoris species from southern Australia are not too clear to me. I have prepared pages on some of them but I am not sure how valid the distinctions and geographic ranges are. Have a look at A. rossquicki, A. greeni, and A. berghi. Considering the variability in Aphelodoris varia , I think we will need to see a lot more work on the variability of these southern species before we can have some confidence in the number of species present. See further details on the A. rossquicki page.
On the available evidence I think your animal is Aphelodoris greeni, which is a slight problem, because it is supposed to be restricted to northern Tasmania. Have a look at a very similar animal I found in Port Phillip Bay, Victoria, which is almost certainly the same species.
If you hadn't escaped from Melbourne to sunny Queensland, these southern species of Aphelodoris would have been a nice research project for you to work on.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
Aphelodoris in southeastern Australia
April 21, 2000
From: Bill Rudman
I have been promising for some time to say something about the Aphelodoris species assemblage in southeastern Australia. Prompted by Nerida Wilson's question about an animal from Tasmania I have prepared a series of pages on this group. It should be considered a 'work in progress' because our present understanding of the species is fairly superficial. Most species are considered to have very restricted geographic ranges but specimens I have of A. greeni greatly extend its range around Tasmania, and as Aphelodoris sp. 2, into Victoria as well. I have not looked at their internal anatomy or know about their mode of development so potentially it could be a group of non-overlapping endemic species. However it seems to me that this is a research project ripe for plucking.
I have prepared pages for:
•Aphelodoris berghii
•Aphelodoris greeni
•Aphelodoris rossquicki
•Aphelodoris sp. 2.
Pages already exist for
•Aphelodoris luctuosa
•Aphelodoris sp. 1
•Aphelodoris varia.
If any one has photos of Aphelodoris from South Australia, or of colour forms not represented as yet on the Forum, I would be happy to see them.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman.
