This species has been observed on Mayotte and Madagascar Islands
Order : Polycladida
Suborder : Cotylea
Superfamily : Pseudocerotoidea
Family : Pseudocerotidae
Distribution : Indo West Pacific
Maximal size : 60 mm
Abundance :
Species characteristics :
Dorsal surface with a background varying from a solid blue or light mauve
to cream or mottled cream intensifying to purple at the margin.
Bright orange elongate spot posterior to the cerebral eyespot fading to an irregular shaped white median stripe which ends before the posterior margin.
Stripe bordered by dark burgundy |
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Photo Alain-Benoît Rassat
Madagascar, Nosy bé, Epave à Bobosse, 25 m, August 2012, size : 20 mm
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Remarks :
The holotype is a specimen collected and described by Prudhoe (1989) deposited at the British Museum (Natural History) in Londres from Mayotte island
Bibliographic data :
 Pseudotentacles formed by simple folds of the anterior margin with numerous ocella
A single cerebral cluster formed by about 30 eyes.
This species was originally described by Prudhoe (1989) based on an immature specimen and determined the color pattern as the diagnostic character. Newman & Cannon (1994) included P. bifurcus in the group 3 characterized by presence of longitudinal stripes, and described the reproductive anatomy which is typical for the genus.
Habitat : Found under ledges on the reef slope feeding on a variety of colonial ascidians
Ethymology : bi = two, furca=fork, for the dark lines bordering the median strip
References :
Discover life : Pseudoceros bifurcus
Marine flatworms of the world : Pseudoceros bifurcus
Nudipixel : Pseudoceros bifurcus
Lifedesk : Pseudoceros bifurcus
Publications :
Prudhoe, S. (1989). Polyclad turbellarians recorded from African waters. Bulletin ofthe British Museum of Natural History 55: 47–96
Newman, L.J. & Cannon, L.R.G. (1994). Biodiversity of Australian polyclad flatworms. Memoirs of the Queensland Museum 36: 159–163
Newman, L.J. & Cannon, L.R.G. (1998). Pseudoceros (Platyhelminthes, Polycladida) from the Indo-Pacific with twelve new species from Australia and Papua New Guinea. The Raffles Bulletin of Zoology 46: 293–323
Newman, L.J. & Cannon, L.R.G. (2003). Marine Flatworms: the world of Polyclads. CSIRO Publishing : Melbourne 112
Other photos of Pseudoceros bifurcus :
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Yvon Gildas
Mayotte, Passe en S, buoy 1, 10 m, 19 April 2010, size : 5 mm
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Alain-Benoît Rassat
Madagascar, Anémone, Nosy bé, 13 m, 23 October 2013, size : 15 mm
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More photos from Indian Ocean
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