Chromodoris alternata
(Burn, l957)
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Family: Chromodorididae
DISTRIBUTION
This species is known only from southern Australia. It is found from the intertidal to 13 metres.
PHOTO
Rocky Cape, NW Tasmania, 6m, October 1984, 13mm long.
PHOTOS: Bill Rudman.
Chromodoris alternata is easily distinguishable externally by the orange-brown patch on the mantle and the white patched translucent purple mantle edge.
Similarly coloured species
Digidentis perplexa and Chromodoris ambiguus both have a similar distribution and a similar colour pattern to C. alternata but D. perplexa can be separated by the opaque white background colour, opaque orange spots and submarginal, sometimes broken, purple band. In both C. alternata and C. ambiguus the colouration is more translucent and on first sight the two species appear to be colour forms of one species. The major difference is that in C. alternata the central region of the mantle has a large orange to orange-brown patch while in C. ambiguus there are a series of orange spots. Around the mantle edge in C. alternata there is a purple tinge over all the epithelium except where there are opaque white epithelial patches. In C. ambiguus the white markings at the mantle edge are the subepithelial mantle glands showing through and the alternating purple spots are epithelial pigmentation.
There are many red and orange-spotted species of chromodorid in New South Wales and southeastern Australia. I have discussed this example of mimicry on a separate page.
Reference:
• Rudman,W.B.,(1987). The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia : Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: Chromodoris epicuria, C. aureopurpurea, C. annulata, C. coi and Risbecia tryoni colour groups. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 90: 305-407.
Rudman, W.B., 1999 (June 1) Chromodoris alternata (Burn, l957). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/chroalte
Related messages
Chromodoris alternata from Port Phillip Bay, Australia
September 9, 2006
From: Trevor McMurrich
Hi Bill,
I was wondering if you could help me identify this nudibranch.
Locality: Steeles Rock, 1 metre, Victoria, Australia, Port Phillip Bay, 2 July 2006, weed covered reef. Length: 15 mm. Photographer: Trevor McMurrich.
Thank you
Trevor McMurrich
trevm@aanet.com.au
McMurrich, T.B., 2006 (Sep 9) Chromodoris alternata from Port Phillip Bay, Australia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17464Dear Trevor,
I am pretty sure this is Chromodoris alternata. Usually it has a large orange brown patch in the middle but I have seen juveniles with small spots and patches as in your animal. The almost transparent mantle and alternating white and translucent purple colour around the mantle edge, is charcteristic of this species. If you look at the Fact Sheet you will see that there are two other species, Digidentis perplexa and Chromodoris ambiguus, with a similar colour pattern living in the same region, which can be a bit confusing.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
