Thuridilla virgata
(Bergh, 1888)

Order: SACOGLOSSA
Superfamily: ELYSIOIDEA
Family: Elysiidae

DISTRIBUTION

Known only from the Indian Ocean [Mauritius, Madagascar, South Africa, Tanzania]

PHOTO

Pereybere, Mauritius, Indian Ocean, October 2002, Depth: 10m, Size: approx 25mm. Photos: Marina Poddubetskaia

The body is a pale bluish white with a series of broad black longitudinal bands, of irregular width and length, on the parapodia. The head is essentially black with a Y-shaped bluish white band running along the medio-dorsal line, a branch going to each rhinophore. The rhinophores, or at least the upper two-thirds, area golden yellow. This species seems to be endemic to the Indian Ocean. Originally described from Mauritius, it has also been reported from South Africa, Madagascar and Tanzania.

• Bergh, L.S.R. (1888) Malacologische Untersuchungen. In: C.G. Semper, Reisen im Archipel der Philippinen, Wissenschaftliche Resultate. Band 2, Heft 16a: 755-814. (Pls. 77-81)
• Gosliner, T.M. (1995) The genus Thuridilla (Opisthobranchia: Elysiidae) from the tropical Indo-Pacific, with a revision of the phylogeny and systematics of the Elysiidae. Proceedings of the Californian Academy of Sciences 49(1): 1-54.

Authorship details
Rudman, W.B., 2002 (October 30) Thuridilla virgata (Bergh, 1888). [In] Sea Slug Forum. Australian Museum, Sydney. Available from http://www.seaslugforum.net/factsheet/thurvirg

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