Phyllidiella cf. annulata
Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Phyllidiidae
PHOTO
AM C127591, 19 mm long alive. 20 March 1981, 3m off mosque on side of coral rock, Christmas Is., Indian Ocean. Photo: John Hicks
This 'form' has similarities to
Phyllidiella annulata in having a pattern of rings on the mantle, and also to Phyllidiella meandrina. Although it has only one pink ridge encircling the mantle, it is most probable that this is a form of Phyllidiella meandrina.
See also:
Phyllidiella zeylanica.
Rudman, W.B., 2002 (June 27) Phyllidiella cf. annulata [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/phylcfannu
Related messages
Phyllidiella cf. annulata from the Solomons
July 8, 2002
From: Rachel Murphy
Hi Bill
Here is another phyllidiid from my recent trip to the Solomon Islands. I have tentatively identified as Phyllidiella pustulosa. Can you confirm this?
Details are:
Image 2 taken at Inside Naru Wall, Gizo, Solomon Is 19 April 2002, 14m, 29C
Thanks
Rachel Murphy
nudinut@hotmail.com
Murphy, R., 2002 (Jul 8) Phyllidiella cf. annulata from the Solomons. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7450Dear Rachel,
It certainly would be easier if these were all P. pustulosa, but I think this is the animal I have separated off as Phyllidiella cf. annulata, which means it is probably not Phyllidiella annulata, but just looks a bit like it. I don't know if the brownish object it is crawling on is a sponge, but it might be worth looking out for something similar if you see it again.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Phyllidiella from Christmas Island
July 4, 2002
From: W.B. Rudman
Here is an animal which may be a juvenile of what I am calling Phyllidiella cf. annulata from John Hicks' Christmas Island, Indian Ocean collections.
PHOTO:
AM C126510, 15 November 1980, Christmas Is., Indian Ocean. 12 mm long alive. Photo: John Hicks
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Phyllidiella cf. annulata from west Malaysia
July 1, 2002
From: Kheong Sann Chan
Here are some photos of another nudibranch from Pulau Dayang off the east coast of west Malaysia.
Location: Puau Dayang, Pinnacles
Date: 8 June, 0800
Depth: 15m
Kheong Sann Chan
kschan@mail.dsi.nus.edu.sg
Chan, K.S., 2002 (Jul 1) Phyllidiella cf. annulata from west Malaysia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7214Dear Kheong,
This looks like the species? colour form? that I have decided to keep separate as Phyllidiella cf. annulata. Your upper photo has some similarities to Phyllidiella granulatus but that species does not have a submarginal black line around the mantle. However we know very little about that species so it is possible that Phyllidiella cf. annulata will turn out to be a colour form of P. granulatus.
Cheers,
Bill Rudman
Phyllidiella cf. annulata from west Malaysia
June 30, 2002
From: Kheong Sann Chan
Here are some more photos from Pulau Dayang off the east coast of west Malaysia.
Location: Pulau Dayang, Dayang Channel
Date: 8 June, 1130
Depth: 10m
Kheong
kschan@mail.dsi.nus.edu.sg
Chan, K.S., 2002 (Jun 30) Phyllidiella cf. annulata from west Malaysia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7242Dear Kheong,
All the ring-like pustules in the centre of the back give this the look of Phyllidiella annulata, but that species does not have a pale mantle border. This colour and pustule combination keep appearing regularly on the Forum and I have in the past called them P. cf. annulata or tried to 'squeeze' them into another species such as P. pustulosa or P. zeylanica. So they don't get lost I have moved them all to their own page, which I have called Phyllidiella cf. annulata. The 'cf' does not mean that I think they are closely related to P. annulata, it just means they look alike.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
Phyllidiella cf. annulata from SE Sulawesi (1)
June 30, 2002
From: Lindsay Warren
Dear Bill,
Following your posting about Phyllidiella cf. annulata from Christmas Island I checked through Phyllidiella photos I took in the Tukang Besi Archipelago, SE Sulawesi, Indonesia [Operation Wallacea] and found several which are similar to the Christmas Island specimen and one closer in appearance to P. annulata. So I thought I would add to the discussion of puzzling Phyllidiids by sending you several shots. Not being able to clearly identify them at the time we gave them the temporary name of Phyllidiella OWN227.
Specimen OS0625 [upper right] was found by Oliver Miller on 10 August 1999 on Karang Kaledupa. L: approx 20mm. Unfortunately I only took shots of its upper surface. The pink pigmentation is strong and the central notal rings are quite pronounced.
Photo: Lindsay Warren.
All the best
Lindsay
alldcl@compuserve.com
Warren, L., 2002 (Jun 30) Phyllidiella cf. annulata from SE Sulawesi (1). [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7155Dear Lindsay,
Your photos in this and your accompanying message are a good opportunity to sort this puzzle out - or at least clarify the problem. I have pulled out all the photos I have of this colour/pustule form and put them on a separate Phyllidiella cf. annulata page. As I say on that page, the pink mantle border and tuberculate ridge down each side are consistently different from 'typical' P. annulata. Another similar looking animal is the one I have called Phyllidiella cf. zeylanica and which Erwin Kohler inquired about in an earlier message. It differs from P. cf. annulata in having a black mantle border and 2-3 longitudinal ridges down each side. Until we get information on variation within populations of these animals I am not sure how many species there are. In the meantime, I think it is best, within reason, to separate them into 'look-alike' groups as I have done here.
Cheers,
Bill Rudman
Phyllidiella cf. annulata from SE Sulawesi (2)
June 30, 2002
From: Lindsay Warren
Dear Bill,
Following my earlier message about your Phyllidiella cf. annulata from Christmas Island, here are photos of a second problematic animal from the Tukang Besi Archipelago, SE Sulawesi, Indonesia which we gave the temporary name of Phyllidiella OWN227.
Data: Specimen OS0976, 9 August 2000 on Pulau Hoga. Size: 17mm.
I have attached views of top, underside and head. The pink pigmentation is much paler and the central notal rings less defined and has other features as per John Hick's Christmas Island specimen. Although it doesn't show up in the photos, I noted that there was a black central line along the top of the posterior part of the foot. In the photo showing the anterior underside one can see white speckles on the hyponotum - these are chemicals being released. However the white marks on the oral tentacles are part of the pigmentation. The rhinophores are pink at the base while the lamellae are black.
Photos: Lindsay Warren.
All the best
Lindsay
alldcl@compuserve.com
Dear Lindsay,
See my comment in your earlier message.
Cheers,
Bill Rudman
Re: Phyllidiella cf. annulata from Christmas Island
May 13, 2002
From: Erwin Köhler
Dear Bill,
Your photos of Phyllidiella cf. annulata from Christmas Island look pretty similar to the animal you have on the Forum as as Phyllidiella cf. zeylanica from Mauritius.
Erwin
Erwin@medslugs.de
Kohler, E, 2002 (May 13) Re: Phyllidiella cf. annulata from Christmas Island. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/6954Dear Erwin,
Perhaps these animals have evolved to annoy us! I think we still have a lot to learn about variability in this group. I veered towards P. annulata because the centre of the ring was black and without tubercles, and the pink ring was very thick. In P. cf. zeylanica the rings are very thin and there is a tubercle in the centre of each ring. In fact the pinlish-white border to the mantle suggest it may be neither.
Clearly we need to know more about variability in this group, not only the dorsal colour pattern but the ventral colour pattern and the anatomy.
Cheers,
Bill Rudman
Phyllidiella cf. annulata from Christmas Island
May 11, 2002
From: W.B. Rudman
Here are some information and photos on an animal which seems to be a colour form of Phyllidiella annulata from John Hicks' Christmas Island, Indian Ocean collections.
PHOTOS: AM C127591, 19 mm long alive. 20 March 1981, 3m off mosque on side of coral rock, Christmas Is., Indian Ocean. Photo: John Hicks
In typical specimens of P. annulata there are a row of distinct rings down the midline of the mantle, while in this animal the rings tend to coalesce. One other point of difference is that Brunckhorst considers that in P. annulata there is no continuous pink edge to the mantle. Despite these differences, no other species has this black-centered ring pattern.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman
