Rostanga byga
Marcus, 1958

Order: NUDIBRANCHIA
Suborder: DORIDINA
Superfamily: EUDORIDOIDEA
Family: Dorididae

DISTRIBUTION

West Atlantic from Caribbean to Argentina.

PHOTO

Anyone with a photo to share??

Typical species of Rostanga with a reddish body, sometimes with darker patches. Mantle covered with caryophyllidia, rhinophores with vertical lamellae. Gills unipinnate.

  • Marcus, E. (1958) On western Atlantic opisthobranchiate gastropods. American Museum of Natural History, Novitates, 1906: 1-82.
Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2006 (October 18) Rostanga byga Marcus, 1958. [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/rostbyga

Related messages


Re: Dorid from Colombia

October 30, 2006
From: Raymond Simpson

Concerning message #7308:

This species seems to be Rostanga byga, which according to "Caribbean Sea Slugs" has been found in St. Lucia, Mexico, Bahamas as well as Brazil. I think R. pulchra is the only Rostanga restricted to the SW Atlantic and these two are the only two know species in the West Atlantic.

Ray

P51MustNB@aol.com

Simpson, R., 2006 (Oct 30) Re: Dorid from Colombia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17913

Dear Ray,
I am glad someone has been looking through the old unidentified/ unidentifiable messages. I suggested this animal could be Rostanga byga in my initial comments, but I am afraid the photo is not clear enough to see whether the animal has typical Rostanga-like caryophyllidia on its mantle or not. Certainly, as I said before, the gills look very like those of a species of Rostanga.

If anyone has a good photo of Rostanga byga, it would be good to include it on the Forum.

Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2006 (Oct 30). Comment on Re: Dorid from Colombia by Raymond Simpson. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/17913

Dorid from Colombia

June 25, 2002
From: Alexander Taborda M

Dear, Dr. Rudman.
Here is a Chromodoris sp collected in Santa Marta (Colombian Caribbean) but I don't know the sp, please collaborate with me on this identification. Thank you. Its yellow and the surface dorsal possibly are y long 2.5cm and was find at 50cm depth on rocks.

Thanks.
Alexander

alexandertaborda@hotmail.com

Taborda, A., 2002 (Jun 25) Dorid from Colombia. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7308

Dear Alexander,
If it has caryophyllidia it is not a chromodorid. The most likely genera are Jorunna and Rostanga. Two species have been described from the west Atlantic. Jorunna spazzola (Marcus, 1955) from Brazil is translucent whitish with darker spots and Rostanga byga Marcus, 1968, also from Brazil, is red, like most species of the genus. It is possible that your animal is a species of Rostanga, and the tight circle of gills supports that idea, but the onmly way to be sure is to look at its anatomy.
Best wishes,
Bill Rudman

Rudman, W.B., 2002 (Jun 25). Comment on Dorid from Colombia by Alexander Taborda M. [Message in] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/find/7308