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This species has been observed on Reunion Island

Order : Polycladida Suborder : Cotylea Superfamily : Pseudocerotoidea Family : Pseudocerotidae Distribution : Indo Pacific Maximal size : 15 mm Abundance : Species characteristics : Background body colour brown, darker towards the margin, with cream to yellow-green prominent median stripe with transverse branches in yellow-green with white borders Irregular yellow-green spots with white borders may be scattered around the median area Margin wide orange extending across the pseudotentacles
	Showing species characteristics...	Photo Laurent Darey Reunion, Tour de Boucan, 16 m, 6 November 2010, size : 30 mm

Remarks :

Leslie Newman think there's a real confusion between Pseudoceros zebra, P. scintillatus and P. imperatus. It is possible that they all form a single species. DNA studies needed to determine relationship between these " three species"
   For these three species, I separated the classic coloration pattern (according Newman, 2003) from ambiguous and unclassiable pattern, and I pull these under the name Pseudoceros scintillatus colour group

Bibliographic data :

Small pseudotentacles formed by simple folds of the anterior margin with few scattered pseudotentacular eyes. Small cerebral cluster with about 30 eyespots    The ventral side is pink-cream in the middle and slightly brown laterally with an orange margin    Habitat : Found on the reef crest under rubble    Etymology : Named after the latin (masculine), imperatus = imperial; for its commanding and bold pattern

References :

Discover life : Pseudoceros imperatus
   Marine flatworms of the world : Pseudoceros imperatus
   Nudipixel : Pseudoceros imperatus
   Polycladia : Pseudoceros imperatus

Publications :

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 imperatus :

Laurent Darey Reunion, Tour de Boucan, 16 m, 6 November 2010, size : 30 mm

Alain Diringer

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