Glossodoris aureola
Rudman, 1995
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Chromodorididae
DISTRIBUTION
Known only from New Caledonia
PHOTO
Upper: Passe Deverd, off Koumac, New Caledonia, 48 mm long alive, Holotype, AM C200595. Photo: Bill Rudman. Lower: SEM photos of radula and jaw plates.
The mantle is translucent white with a thin milky yellow border. The mantle glands appear as a submarginal band of scattered opaque white patches. In the central part of the mantle there are scattered bright orange spots and opaque white dusting. The long and simple gills are translucent clear with an orange core colouring the upper two-thirds. The rhinophore stalk and club is translucent clear except for a band of orange which colours the upper half of the tip, and runs as a diffuse band down the edge of the rest of the club. The gill and rhinophore pockets are not coloured and all the underside of the mantle and the body are translucent white, except for a yellow border to the foot.
There is a broad mantle overlap with a greatly folded edge. About halfway down each side of the mantle is a large semi-permanent fold. The simple gills are arranged in an arch around the anal papilla and at each end of the arch a few form an inwardly coiling spiral. Some gills have a few branches near the tip. The gills are extremely long and slender, comparable to those of Halgerda. The mantle glands are large and spherical, forming an irregular row just in from the mantle edge. The radula is typically narrow, and has a distinct triangular ventral tooth.
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Rudman, W.B. (1995) The Chromodorididae (Opisthobranchia: Mollusca) of the Indo-West Pacific: further species from New Caledonia and the Noumea romeri colour group. Molluscan Research, 16: 1-43.
PHOTOS: SEM photos of radula and jaw plates. A, central region showing triangular central tooth. B, tips of jaw rodlets. C, section through broken jaw plate showing arrangement of rodlets. D, Section of central and left side of radula. E, mid-lateral teeth from left side of radula. Scale bars: A,C, E = 20 µm; B = 10 µm; D = 200 µm. AM C200595. Photos: A.C. Miller.
Rudman, W.B., 2005 (February 15) Glossodoris aureola Rudman, 1995. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/glosaure
Related messages
New Glossodoris Fact sheets on Forum
February 15, 2005
From: Bill Rudman
I have just added three Fact Sheets on the following rarely seen species of Glossodoris:
Glossodoris aureola
Glossodoris pullata
Glossodoris carlsoni
Best wishes
Bill Rudman
