Chelidonura fulvipunctata
Baba, 1938
Order: CEPHALASPIDEA
Family: Aglajidae
DISTRIBUTION
Known from Japan and eastern Australia.
PHOTO
North coast of New South Wales, March 1982. 17mm long alive.
PHOTO: Bill Rudman.
Known only from Japan and eastern Australia but probably more widely spread. Some years large populations of this species can be found in early Spring on rock platforms in Sydney. These are probably from larvae which have drifted south from more tropical waters in the eastern Australian current. Australian specimens are seldom more than 18mm long.
This species is very variable in colour but usually can be identified by the large W-shaped mark on the head, although sometimes only part of the W is present.
Reference:
• Baba,K. (1938) Opisthobranchia of Kii, Middle Japan. Journal of the Department of Agriculture, Kyusyu Imperial University, 6(1): 1-19.
Rudman, W.B., 1998 (October 14) Chelidonura fulvipunctata Baba, 1938. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/chelfulv
Related messages
Re: Aglajid from southern Queensland
October 18, 2005
From: Gary Cobb
Hi Bill,
Thnaks for posting the message for me. I found two more at Alex this week and thought you should see them. The three animals seem to look quite the same.
Cheers Gary Cobb
Locality:
Alexandra Headland Mooloolaba
Depth: 50mm
Queensalnd Australia
Pacific
Length: 24-25mm
12-10-05
Intertidal
Photographer: Gary Cobb
gary@cobb.com.au
Dear Gary,
Wonderful!. These show the W mark very clearly. It's nice to have a 'guess' confirmed.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Aglajid from southern Queensland
October 15, 2005
From: Gary Cobb
Hi Bill,
Attached are pics I took of what appears to be some kind of Chelidonura found intertidally off Mooloolaba. Can you ID this beautiful animal? I have never seen it before. It was found in a shallow crack holding water on a dry rock platform 2m from shore!
Locality: Alexandra Headland, Mooloolaba, sthn Queensland, Australia. Length: 30mm, 04 October 2005. Intertidal. Photographer: Gary Cobb
Thanks
Gary Cobb
gary@cobb.com.au
Dear Gary,
I am pretty sure this is a colour form of Chelidonura fulvipunctata. It normally has a distinctive white W mark on the head, but in your animal, which is so light in colour, the mark is not easy to make out. Its long thin tapering left 'tail' is also quite distinctive. Bob Burn (1966) described it from Coolangatta, sthn Qld as C. conformata.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Chelidonura fulvipunctata from the Red Sea
April 23, 2005
From: Binyamin Koretz
Hi Bill,
Here's a record of Chelidonura fulvipunctata in the Red Sea.
Locality: Eilat, Caves, Israel. Red Sea (Gulf of Eilat). Depth: 5 m. Length: 8 mm. 20 April 2005. sandy flat with occasional corals. Photographer: Binyamin and Shulamit Koretz.
I'm not sure whether it's been reported previously from here, although there are several published reports of this species in the Mediterranean (see http://www.ciesm.org/atlas/Chelidonurafulvipunctata.html ), where it's assumed to be a Lessepsian migrant, so this shouldn't be too surprising.
Best regards
Binyamin
binyamin@koretz.net
Koretz, B., 2005 (Apr 23) Chelidonura fulvipunctata from the Red Sea. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13596Dear Binyamin,
Thanks for this record, which is a valuable new addition. Terry Gosliner (1987) records a single specimen from South Africa [Knysna Lagoon - between Cape Town and Port Elizabeth] which is the only record I know of from the western Indian Ocean. It certainly supports interpreting the Mediterranean records as Lessepian migration.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Chelidonura fulvipunctata with eggs from Northern N.S.W.
March 8, 2005
From: Denis Riek
Dear Bill,
Chelidonura fulvipunctata is usually very hard to find in the river and quite small. At present I am finding larger animals fairly regularly and in the same small area as the gastropterids.
Locality: Brunswick River, N.S.W. Australia. Depth: 1.5 mm. Length: 18mm. 04 March 2005. Under rock on rock wall. Photographer: Denis Riek
Due to conditions in the river I had to take this animal home to photograph where it layed eggs overnight. The eggs were covered in a clear jelly approx. 5mm thick.
Regards
Denis.
denisriek@hotmail.com
Riek, D.W., 2005 (Mar 8) Chelidonura fulvipunctata with eggs from Northern N.S.W.. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/13296Dear Denis,
This is a nice find. We don't have that many records of species of Chelidonura laying eggs, and especially laying them on a hard surface like this.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Chelidonura fulvipunctata from nthn New South Wales
March 12, 2004
From: Denis Riek
Dear Bill,
Here are two photos of Chelidonura fulvipunctata from the Brunswick River. Both were found under rocks in 2 metres on the internal walls and measured approx 10mm. The first was found December 2002 and the second December 2003.
Regards,
Denis Riek.
denisriek@hotmail.com
Riek, D., 2004 (Mar 12) Chelidonura fulvipunctata from nthn New South Wales. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/12429Thanks Denis,
This species seems quite variable in colour, but the W-shaped mark on the head seems to be a good way to distinguish it from other species
Best wishes
Bill Rudman
Chelidonura fulvipunctata from Lord Howe Island
January 16, 2003
From: W.B. Rudman
Here is a photo record from Ian Hutton of Chelidonura fulvipunctata from Lord Howe Island.
Bill Rudman
Rudman, W.B., 2003 (Jan 16) Chelidonura fulvipunctata from Lord Howe Island. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/8790Chelidonura fulvipunctata from South Africa
August 9, 2000
From: Valda Fraser
Dear Bill
I think this is Chelidonura fulvipunctata. I'd appreciate your comments.
Locality: Mpande, Transkei, SOUTH AFRICA - intertidal zone.
Date: June 2000
Size: 27mm
Thanks.
Valda
iti04937@mweb.co.za
Fraser, V., 2000 (Aug 9) Chelidonura fulvipunctata from South Africa. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/2663Dear Valda,
Yes this seems to be C. fulvipunctata, but the yellowish spots, which give it its name seem to be absent in your animal. The one animal Terry Gosliner reports from South Africa does have yellow spots however. The most distinguishing feature of this species though is the W shaped pattern on the head which ranges in colour for cream, through yellow to bright orange.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
